OpenAI hires ex-Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Uber's Jill Hazelbaker

Two senior hires on the same day

OpenAI said on Monday that Dan Driscoll joins as senior counselor for national security modernization. Driscoll is the 26th Secretary of the US Army. Bloomberg reported on 3 November that Uber president Jill Hazelbaker is leaving the ride-hailing company to become OpenAI's chief corporate affairs officer, citing a statement issued on Tuesday. Driscoll takes a newly created role.

Driscoll will advise on how advanced AI can strengthen national and cyber security. He will work with OpenAI's leaders and outside partners. Hazelbaker will oversee global communications and corporate positioning.

The pair give OpenAI Washington access and communications firepower at the same moment. Driscoll's Army and Capitol Hill ties could help the company win government contracts and shape rules for military AI. Hazelbaker's brief is to manage how the company is seen, as it sells models to consumers, developers and governments at once. Neither announcement gave start dates or pay. Neither company said how the roles will be structured day to day.

Driscoll's Army record

Driscoll was the civilian head of the US Army. As secretary, he oversaw nearly one million soldiers and more than 265,000 Army civilians, according to OpenAI.

He also drove AI modernization across the service. That included Project ARIA, an initiative that put AI tools into budgeting, logistics and tactical model deployment. Driscoll submitted his resignation in late August 2026. He left the Pentagon in September after months of friction with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Journal also reported that he is a former Army officer and a law-school classmate of Vice President JD Vance. Driscoll said he had served as acting director of the ATF.

Driscoll framed the shift bluntly. "National security requirements are changing faster than at any time in the past fifty years," he said in a statement. He said AI would help people in national security cut through paperwork, make sense of more information and get answers faster.

OpenAI's defense push

The Wall Street Journal read the hire as a signal of intent. OpenAI wants closer ties with the military and a bigger share of government contracts, The-decoder reported.

In late February 2026, OpenAI agreed to deploy its models on the Defense Department's classified network. That deal came the same day the Pentagon classified rival Anthropic as a supply chain risk. CEO Dario Amodei had refused to drop restrictions on mass surveillance and autonomous weapons. Anthropic is still fighting its Pentagon case in court, The Next Web reported.

OpenAI said the hire builds on Daybreak, its cyber resilience programme with allies and partners. It has been opened to Ukraine and pitched to utilities in the US. His main focus is helping allies use the technology responsibly, The Next Web reported.

Sam Altman put the appointment in alliance terms. "The US has an extraordinary opportunity to work with other countries to spread the adoption of democratic AI," OpenAI's chief executive said.

The corporate affairs side

Hazelbaker arrives from Uber, where she was president. Bloomberg describes her as a longtime executive and the latest veteran to leave the company this year. Her remit covers global communications and corporate positioning.

The two hires sit in different parts of OpenAI. Both are about access. A company that wants defense contracts needs people who can talk to the Pentagon and to Congress. It also needs someone to explain the results to everyone else, and to answer for them when the questions get harder.

What happens next

Driscoll will work with governments, industry, academia and US allies, OpenAI said. The goal is stronger national security and cyber defense through AI. The-decoder reports that his bipartisan network could prove useful if the balance of power shifts after the current midterm elections.

OpenAI has not said how large its government business is, or what the two appointments will cost. The company also has not named a start date for either executive. What is clear is the direction. OpenAI wants a seat at the table when rules for AI in the armed forces and intelligence agencies get written.