OpenAI brings Uber's Jill Hazelbaker in to lead corporate affairs
OpenAI brings Uber's Jill Hazelbaker in to lead global communications and reputation, reflecting corporate affairs' widening strategic role.
OpenAI appointed Uber executive Jill Hazelbaker as chief corporate affairs officer on November 3, giving the AI company a senior leader for global communications and corporate positioning. The appointment brings an executive with experience across technology, public policy and political campaigns into a role where reputation and institutional trust are central concerns.
Hazelbaker arrives from Uber, where she was president and chief corporate affairs officer. Her portfolio there included communications, marketing, public policy, safety and people teams. The move is noteworthy for the breadth of the remit, rather than a change in the media-relations function alone.
Key Takeaways
- OpenAI appointed Jill Hazelbaker chief corporate affairs officer on November 3, with responsibility for global communications and corporate positioning.
- Her remit brings reputation, brand and stakeholder engagement under an executive with experience at Uber, Snap and Google.
- A senior corporate affairs appointment can clarify leadership, but public trust requires evidence beyond messaging.
Table of contents
Jump to each section:
- The remit extends beyond a press office
- Why OpenAI values an executive with crisis experience
- The appointment follows a leadership gap
- Trust is the goal, but results remain to be seen
- What communications teams should take from the move
The remit extends beyond a press office
OpenAI's November 3 announcement says Hazelbaker will lead global communications and corporate positioning, working with senior management to improve public understanding. The statement puts building public trust at the center of her role, though it does not specify new policies or organizational targets.
Axios reported that her responsibilities cover reputation, brand, social media, cultural and community partnerships, and convenings. Those functions reach audiences beyond journalists, including policymakers, customers, partners and communities affected by AI.
A press office reacts to questions and manages coverage. Corporate affairs with this scope can coordinate how a company speaks to different stakeholders and align public commitments with the decision-makers who must fulfill them.
Why OpenAI values an executive with crisis experience
Hazelbaker spent more than a decade at Uber, a technology company that navigated political, labor and reputation pressures while expanding internationally. OpenAI credits her with helping build the capabilities needed to support Uber's growth. Previously, she held communications and public-policy roles at Snap and Google and worked on John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign.
OpenAI president Greg Brockman said, "As AI becomes part of more people's lives, how we communicate, engage, and earn public trust has never been more important." His statement positions the recruitment as a response to the demands of a global technology platform, rather than a promise that public skepticism will disappear.
Technology companies face overlapping questions about product safety, regulation, employment decisions and commercial incentives. A corporate affairs leader can organize those conversations, even when no message will fully satisfy every audience.
The appointment follows a leadership gap
Fortune reported that OpenAI's chief communications officer Hannah Wong left in January 2026 and that Chris Lehane led communications in the interim. The publication said Hazelbaker will report to Brockman and begin in early December, citing details supplied by OpenAI.
A senior appointment can clarify authority over brand, communications and reputation during rapid growth. It does not establish whether OpenAI will change agency relationships, communications headcount or its crisis-response structure.
For PR teams serving AI businesses, the move illustrates how reputation work intersects with corporate policy, safety and executive decisions. The communications leader may need access to decisions before public announcements, not only responsibility for explaining them afterward.
Trust is the goal, but results remain to be seen
OpenAI's announcement repeatedly invokes public trust. That is an objective, not a reported metric or result. Trust would need to be assessed through evidence: whether concerns are addressed promptly, whether executives explain material decisions and whether public statements match product and policy changes.
Governments, customers, publishers and employees weigh AI's benefits against privacy, intellectual-property and safety concerns. Centralized corporate affairs may help organize these conversations, but the substance depends on decisions throughout the business.
Hazelbaker said in the announcement that building public trust has never been more consequential. Her appointment provides a senior point of accountability for external positioning. Its effectiveness will be tested when an issue demands both a message and an operational response.
What communications teams should take from the move
First, define the cross-functional owner. When communications, policy and safety issues overlap, a company needs clarity about who coordinates the response and which operational leaders approve the underlying facts. Hazelbaker's new remit illustrates that broader design.
Second, separate reputation activity from evidence. A media briefing, community event or executive interview demonstrates engagement, but cannot prove trust on its own. Teams should report issue resolution and stakeholder feedback alongside activity.
Third, plan for decisions before statements. If the response depends on product, policy or personnel changes, the communications leader needs direct access to those decision-makers. Otherwise public teams can be held accountable for commitments they cannot deliver.
The larger lesson is that corporate affairs can be a strategic executive function. This appointment is one example, while its results depend on what OpenAI does next.
