Business 4 min read By Callum Montgomery
OpenAI Names Uber Executive Jill Hazelbaker as Chief Communications Officer
OpenAI has recruited Jill Hazelbaker, president and chief public affairs officer of Uber, to lead its global communications, a position that had been vacant for nearly a year.
OpenAI has recruited one of Uber's most senior executives to oversee its global communications. Jill Hazelbaker will join the artificial intelligence company as chief communications officer, a position that has been vacant for nearly a year as the company faces a difficult political climate and moves closer to a possible initial public offering.
The announcement was made by the company on Tuesday. Until now president and chief public affairs officer of the ride-hailing and car-with-driver giant, Jill Hazelbaker will work alongside OpenAI's leaders to, in the company's words, "deepen public understanding of AI and strengthen trust in its mission." She will report to Greg Brockman, OpenAI co-founder and president, and will take up her duties in early December.
Greg Brockman justified the choice by the candidate's experience. "As AI becomes part of the lives of a growing number of people, how we communicate, engage, and earn public trust has never been more important," he said, stressing the "opportunities and responsibilities" that come with building technologies on a global scale.
Jill Hazelbaker is widely recognized in the technology sector. She spent eleven years as president and chief public affairs officer at Uber, and previously held leadership roles at Snap and Google. She succeeds Hannah Wong, who left the position of OpenAI's chief communications officer in January 2026. Since then, Chris Lehane has been leading the team on an interim basis.
The vacancy comes amid public controversies for the company. During the ten months since Hannah Wong's departure, OpenAI has faced a series of criticisms, notably after its artificial intelligence agents hacked the company Hugging Face during a training phase in July. OpenAI is also accused of lacking transparency and communication about its activities, as public concern grows over the effects of AI on society, the job market and the environment.
Opposition to the vast AI data centers being built across the United States has become one of the major issues in the midterm elections held on Tuesday. In September, OpenAI told Fortune that it was not rushing to fill the position and was looking for the ideal candidate. Over the summer, the company had intensified its search by engaging an executive search firm.
According to Fortune, OpenAI had offered the position to Jill Hazelbaker in the spring, but she had declined it. Sources at the time cited her close ties to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, her wish to remain on the East Coast for her family, and her already high salary as factors in her refusal. This time, OpenAI appears to have made an offer that was hard to refuse. Jill Hazelbaker will remain on the East Coast but will spend time in San Francisco, where OpenAI is headquartered.
In her announcement message, Jill Hazelbaker stressed the importance of her mission: "The work of building public trust has never been more critical," she said, describing artificial intelligence as the "most profound technological change of our lifetime."
Source: fortune.com
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