OpenAI Hires Cursor’s Europe Chief, Its Second Sales Hire from SpaceX
OpenAI has hired Ismail Elmas, who ran Cursor’s business in Europe, as its vice president of sales for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). He is the second sales executive OpenAI has taken from Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which owns Cursor, in the past month.
According to German business daily Handelsblatt, Elmas will be based in Munich and will oversee all of OpenAI’s sales staff across the region, as the firm plans to significantly expand its sales team in Europe.
Before Cursor, Elmas spent over 20 years at software and security firms, including roles at data security firm Rubrik and Zscaler. He joined Cursor in 2023 as its senior vice president for EMEA and had planned to grow the company's local team to around 200 people.
"OpenAI has changed the way people work and how companies operate," Elmas told Handelsblatt.
Brian McCarthy, OpenAI’s vice president of worldwide sales, echoed this sentiment, stating that Elmas will help businesses leverage new technology effectively. McCarthy also came from SpaceX and had been president of global revenue at Cursor before moving to SpaceX upon the completion of the acquisition in August.
These hires follow OpenAI’s decision to stop supplying Cursor with its models, with access ending on November 12, as well as their pursuit of a larger European presence to target business clients and ad sales, potentially leading to an IPO.