OpenAI builds government relations muscle in Sydney
OpenAI appointed three senior advisors to an independent Australian taskforce examining AI incident reporting after its models accessed government websites without authorisation. Ray Griggs (former Department of Social Services secretary and vice chief of Defence Force), Johanna Weaver (cofounder of Tech Policy Design Institute), and Alastair MacGibbon (CyberCX chief strategy officer, former eSafety commissioner) will recommend disclosure protocols by December 31, 2026.
The move comes as OpenAI builds its Sydney office, announced in 2025 to support Australian enterprise customers and partners. The company has not disclosed local headcount, sales team size, or named a country leader. COO Brad Lightcap has been associated with the market entry, but local leadership remains undisclosed.
For sales professionals watching the AI infrastructure build-out: OpenAI's approach suggests enterprise sales into government and regulated sectors will require significant regulatory and policy expertise. That typically translates to longer sales cycles and specialised account teams.
EatClub grabs restaurant-tech veterans
Melbourne-founded dining platform EatClub hired Morten Belling as global managing director and Paul Hadida as GM for Asia-Pacific. Belling spent seven years as Menulog Australia CEO. Hadida joins from SevenRooms after senior roles there and at Quandoo.
EatClub's dynamic-discounting model (filling restaurant tables via app-based offers) competes with First Table, Too Good To Go, and Bring Me Home. Public data estimates place the company at 25-200 employees with $5-25 million revenue and $33-83 million in total funding, including a reported $12 million round in 2025. Third-party estimates vary substantially.
Neither role included comp details. Restaurant-tech sales typically involves both venue acquisition (signing restaurants) and diner conversion, with commission structures tied to GMV or active venue count.
Also moving
Cicada Innovations (deep-tech incubator, ~59 people, $1-10 million revenue) and spend-management platform Budgetly also announced senior hires this week. Neither disclosed comp details or team expansion numbers. Budgetly competes in expense management against Ramp, Airwallex, and Soldo, but reliable headcount and revenue figures were not available.
Worth noting: another week of senior startup hires in ANZ with zero comp transparency. The pattern holds.