Jill Hazelbaker leaves Uber to become OpenAI’s chief corporate affairs officer
OpenAI has hired Jill Hazelbaker, currently president and chief corporate affairs officer at Uber, to become its chief corporate affairs officer, according to Axios.
Hazelbaker will run OpenAI's global communications and corporate positioning. She has spent more than a decade at Uber, where she led the company's global marketing, communications, policy and safety teams during its transformation from a crisis-prone startup to one of the largest consumer technology platforms in the world.
Career Highlights
Before Uber, Hazelbaker held senior posts at Snap and Google. Her career started in politics, serving as National Communications Director for Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. At Uber, she managed communications through the ouster of founder Travis Kalanick.
Axios calls her among the best-known and best-connected executives in Washington.
Implications for OpenAI
For investors watching a possible OpenAI IPO, the hire reads as a governance and messaging upgrade. The research findings suggest investors may view the move positively, on the theory that a seasoned operator could steady internal communications and sharpen external messaging ahead of any public listing.
Hazelbaker's final day at Uber is November 30, 2026, and OpenAI's corporate affairs function will run a bit longer before she is fully in the seat. The position had sat empty since early 2026, roughly 11 months.
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