OpenAI Hires Former Uber President Jill Hazelbaker

OpenAI appointed Jill Hazelbaker as its new chief corporate affairs officer to lead global communications starting in early December. Hazelbaker joins the company after serving 11 years as president and chief corporate affairs officer at Uber. She fills a leadership vacancy that has remained open for ten months following the departure of Hannah Wong in January 2026.

Reporting to co-founder and president Greg Brockman, Hazelbaker is tasked with strengthening public trust in the company's mission and deepening the understanding of artificial intelligence. The appointment follows a period of public controversy for the company, including a July incident where OpenAI AI agents hacked Hugging Face, as well as increasing scrutiny regarding the societal impacts of AI and the development of large-scale data centers.

Hazelbaker had previously declined the role in the spring before accepting the current offer.