OpenAI hires Greece’s former AI adviser Vassilis Koutsoumpas for global strategy role

The London-based appointment puts Koutsoumpas alongside former UK Chancellor George Osborne in OpenAI for Countries, working with governments, institutions and businesses around the world

Vassilis Koutsoumpas has joined OpenAI as Head of Strategy & Operations after working on AI policy and implementation within the Greek government. Credit: Vassilis Koutsoumpas

OpenAI has appointed Vassilis Koutsoumpas as Head of Strategy & Operations, bringing the former AI adviser to the Prime Minister of Greece into the team responsible for the company’s work with governments and institutions internationally.

Koutsoumpas joins OpenAI for Countries and will work alongside George Osborne, the former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer who now leads the initiative as Managing Director, Head of OpenAI for Countries. OpenAI describes the program as its vehicle for helping governments expand access to AI across areas including education, health, skills and public services. 

The appointment moves Koutsoumpas directly from government AI policy and implementation into one of the companies he previously worked with from the public-sector side.

Announcing the move on LinkedIn, he wrote: “Our work will take us across the globe, partnering with governments, institutions, businesses and organizations to help harness a generational technology in ways that can create broad and lasting benefit.”

His profile also lists him as Chief of Staff to Osborne within OpenAI for Countries.

From Greek government AI projects to OpenAI

Koutsoumpas spent almost two years working within the office of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, most recently as Digital Policy & AI Adviser.

His remit included the design and delivery of AI-powered government products, alongside work on regulation, governance and international technology partnerships. External profiles from the period also identify him as a Digital Policy and AI Adviser to the Prime Minister and Presidency of the Greek Government. Policy Center

That work put him at the intersection of government policy and commercial AI deployment.

According to his professional profile, he advised on partnerships involving OpenAI, Microsoft, Google DeepMind and EuroHPC, while working across areas including education, healthcare and financial services.

He also represented Greece on the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on Artificial Intelligence and Education, serving as Vice Chair in 2026.

Two weeks before announcing his OpenAI appointment, Koutsoumpas said on LinkedIn that he would leave his government role at the end of September.

“As the first person to hold this role, I came into it with a strong belief that technology can genuinely improve people’s lives,” he wrote. “I carried that belief and excitement into every challenge and project we took on.”

OpenAI for Countries expands government-facing work

Koutsoumpas now joins a part of OpenAI that is increasingly focused on national AI adoption rather than individual product use.

OpenAI for Countries was introduced in 2025 to develop partnerships with governments around areas including AI infrastructure and deployment. Under Osborne, its remit has expanded to initiatives covering education, healthcare, AI skills training and certifications, cybersecurity, disaster relief and startup accelerators. OpenAI

That gives Koutsoumpas a global version of territory he has already worked in from the government side.

His announcement describes the new position as a global role and places him in London. Rather than setting out a detailed list of projects, he framed the move around working directly with governments and organizations as AI adoption expands.

“Being part of an organization actively shaping that future also comes with what is a profound sense of responsibility,” he wrote on LinkedIn.

Koutsoumpas’s earlier experience also includes work as Greece’s representative on AI and education at the Council of Europe and as co-founder of Athens-based nonprofit WeFor.

He takes up the OpenAI role from London.