Ex-Google and AWS executive James Massey joins OpenAI in EMEA GTM role
James Massey, who has reportedly joined OpenAI as a member of its EMEA go-to-market team, pictured at the OpenAI office. Photo credit: James Massey
James Massey has reportedly joined OpenAI as a member of its go-to-market team for EMEA, according to posts on LinkedIn. Massey, who spent four years at Google most recently leading AI go-to-market for the telecommunications, media, and entertainment segment across the UK and Ireland, is based in London and joins as OpenAI accelerates its enterprise expansion across the region.
Posting on LinkedIn, Massey said he was "excited to share" that he had joined OpenAI, adding that the role placed him at "one of the most important technology shifts of our time." He described his focus as helping "leading enterprises across EMEA unlock what's possible with frontier AI."
From AWS to Google to OpenAI
According to his LinkedIn profile, Massey spent nearly five years at Amazon Web Services before joining Google in February 2022. At Google, he reportedly held a series of roles including AI and Web3 Lead for the Digital Natives segment in the UK and Ireland, Startup Sales Leader for the UKI, and most recently AI GTM Lead for Telco, Media, and Entertainment. He also reportedly founded and ran a UK AI community of over 1,000 startups and enterprises during his time at Google.
In a separate LinkedIn post marking his departure from Google, Massey wrote that it was "remarkable to see how much we've built," reflecting on a tenure that took him from the UK startup team focused on emerging technology through to leading AI go-to-market for some of the country's largest media and telecoms businesses. He added that "AI is fundamentally changing the world we live in," and described his final 12 months at Google as "the best 12 months of my professional career."
Prior to his cloud career, Massey co-founded MyLifestyleCard, a consumer discounts platform and mobile app that reportedly secured over 100 brand partnerships including Virgin Media and The Gym Group before he exited in 2018. He is also listed as co-founder of Healthi, described as a data and AI intelligence suite for healthcare, and as an advisor at Mucka AI.
Massey's appointment reflects a broader pattern of senior AI go-to-market talent moving from established cloud providers to frontier AI companies as competition for enterprise contracts intensifies across Europe.
His hire follows a period in which OpenAI has been expanding its commercial operations in the UK and wider EMEA region. According to his LinkedIn profile, Massey's role at OpenAI began in April 2026 and is based on-site in the London area.
