OpenAI Taps Uber’s Reputation Fixer as the AI Trust Battle Intensifies

OpenAI Taps Uber’s Reputation Fixer as the AI Trust Battle Intensifies
Hazelbaker’s route to OpenAI runs through politics and some of technology’s most scrutinized companies. She began in U.S. campaign communications, including senior roles for John McCain’s 2008 presidential run and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, before holding communications and policy posts at Google and Snap.

Over the past decade, she became a central figure in Uber’s effort to outgrow its crisis-prone startup image. As president and chief corporate affairs officer, Hazelbaker oversaw communications, marketing, public policy, safety and people teams while helping the company navigate regulatory and reputational pressure. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said she was a driving force behind key strategic moments and a trusted adviser as the company worked to “right the ship.”

Now OpenAI is bringing that experience into a newly prominent corporate-affairs role. Hazelbaker will lead global communications and corporate positioning, while also taking responsibility for brand, social media and outside partnerships. The company says the appointment is meant to deepen engagement with the people and institutions shaping AI’s future.

The competing emphasis is less on selling AI than on securing legitimacy for it. Hazelbaker called AI “the most profound technological shift of our lifetime,” arguing that the work of building public trust “has never been more consequential.” In remarks reported separately, she described the job as a chance to help shape how the world understands, engages with and ultimately benefits from the technology.

OpenAI President Greg Brockman made the same case, saying that as AI becomes part of more people’s lives, communication and trust matter more than ever. He publicly welcomed Hazelbaker, writing that he was “extremely excited” to work with her.

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