Sam Altman isn't the brains in OpenAI, it is the research scientists and engineers. Just take care of the rest of the company and let these geniuses do what they do, thats the role for the ceo.
This is a bit tangential but I feel like the meat of this notion is often misattributed.
“You need someone to steer the ship in the right direction.”
I think most people can handle the “right direction” part, so it really comes down to just needing _a person_, one person, who makes strategic decisions at a high level. And that’s it. I don’t think Sam is special here. I just think he was the guy in the spot.