Nairi Hourdajian, a Glover Park Group alum who was Uber's first communications executive, is leaving the ride-hailing service for a top post at venture capital firm Canaan Partners.
Hourdajian worked the political ranks as a staff assistant to Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) and policy director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Commitee before moving to Glover Park in 2011.
She joined Uber as head of global communications in 2013 and directed corporate comms. last year.
She will take up the VP of communications role at Menlo Park, Calif.-based Canaan, which works with Grayling and Canale Communications on the agency front. The VC firm has outposts in New York and Israel with a portfolio ranging widely from consumer, fintech and enterprise software to healthcare.
Google vets Rachel Whetstone and Jill Hazelbaker oversee Uber's communications as senior VP and VP, respectively.
Recode first reported the move.
Senior-most communications executives in the Fortune 500 earned between $50,000 and $100,000 more this year than they did two years ago, according to a recent survey of chief communications officers.
The pressure is on PR pros to make sure corporate messaging remains clear and cohesive. Business jargon is an obstacle to achieving this goal.
In today's volatile world of constant disruption, the ability to offer reliability and dependability is more valuable than ever.
