Everything-PR reviewed communications leadership at 12 major technology companies and found four models: corporate or public affairs (five companies), marketing (three), a standalone communications officer (three), and communications paired with people leadership (one). OpenAI's incoming chief corporate affairs officer reports to OpenAI president Greg Brockman, and Microsoft moved communications under vice chair and president Brad Smith. The 12 companies are a selected sample, not a measure of the technology industry.
Sources name a CEO reporting line for five of the 12 communications leaders. Four of the six leadership changes announced since December 15, 2025 involved an outside hire. Every role below was checked against sources available on November 6, 2026.
Last updated: November 6, 2026
Which reporting lines do the 12 communications leaders have?
Sources name a CEO or co-CEO reporting line for five of the 12 communications leaders: Apple, Cisco, Netflix, Intel and Adobe. Two companies route communications through a president, one leader joins the CEO's leadership team, and four have no stated reporting line in the sources reviewed.
| Reporting line named in sources | Companies | Count |
|---|
| CEO or co-CEO | Apple, Cisco, Netflix, Intel, Adobe | 5 |
| President | OpenAI, Microsoft | 2 |
| CEO's leadership team | Airbnb | 1 |
| Not stated | IBM, Spotify, Amazon, Zoom | 4 |
The two president routes are the most recent moves. Jill Hazelbaker, who leaves Uber as president and chief corporate affairs officer, will report to Greg Brockman, OpenAI co-founder and president, according to Fortune. Microsoft's interim communications leader reports to Brad Smith, the company's vice chair and president, according to GeekWire. Fallon O'Connor, who now leads communications and people at Airbnb, joins the leadership team of CEO Brian Chesky.
Apple's line comes from Apple's own leadership page, and Adobe's comes from its December 2024 appointment announcement. Both deserve a recheck before anyone cites them as current.
Why do OpenAI and Microsoft route communications through a president?
OpenAI and Microsoft both place communications under a president rather than under a stated CEO line, and both changes were announced within the last six weeks. OpenAI announced on November 3 that Jill Hazelbaker will become chief corporate affairs officer, leading global communications and corporate positioning. She starts in early December, OpenAI told Fortune, and Fortune had described a nine-month search for the role in September.
Microsoft's change came in two steps. Frank X. Shaw, Microsoft's chief communications officer for 17 years, announced in September that he will leave at the end of 2026. In late September, GeekWire reported on internal memos moving communications out of the marketing organization led by chief marketing officer Takeshi Numoto and into Brad Smith's Corporate, External and Legal Affairs organization.
Brent Colburn, Microsoft's vice president of global public affairs, is interim communications leader and reports to Smith. GeekWire reported that he stays through December, is not a candidate for the permanent role, and also joins Numoto's leadership team during the interim. The permanent chief communications officer is expected to report to Smith too, so the new structure is not only a temporary arrangement.
Neither company has said why it chose this structure. Smith's memo said more Microsoft employees and executives are likely to act as the company's public voice, including on social media, according to reports of the memo. For how Microsoft organized the function before this change, see Microsoft's corporate communications rebuild.
How were the 12 companies sorted into four models?
Everything-PR assigned each company to one model according to the broadest senior portfolio that contains communications. Each rule is applied to the leader's title or the company's own biography.
| Model | Classification rule | Companies | Count |
|---|
| Corporate or public affairs | The leader's title or biography places communications with affairs, policy or corporate responsibility | OpenAI, Microsoft, IBM, Spotify, Amazon | 5 |
| Marketing | The company biography places communications inside the chief marketing officer's portfolio | Intel, Adobe, Zoom | 3 |
| Standalone communications | The leader's title names communications and no second function | Apple, Cisco, Netflix | 3 |
| Communications and people | One executive leads communications and a separate people organization | Airbnb | 1 |
Adobe and Zoom are classified by their chief marketing officers' portfolios because the sources reviewed identify no separate senior communications officer. "Standalone" describes a title only. It does not show that communications is organizationally independent, and it says nothing about team size.
IBM's Jonathan Adashek is senior vice president and chief global affairs officer. IBM's newsroom biography says he oversees brand and communications, public affairs, business development, corporate responsibility and sports and entertainment partnerships. He joined IBM in 2020 as chief communications officer and added marketing in 2022.
Dustee Jenkins, Spotify's chief public affairs officer, oversees communications, government affairs and trust and safety, according to her PR Daily speaker profile. Drew Herdener, Amazon's senior vice president of communications and corporate responsibility, took on sustainability and community in an expanded role that Axios reported in August 2024.
Intel announced Annie Shea Weckesser as senior vice president and chief marketing and communications officer on December 15, 2025. She leads an integrated organization covering corporate reputation, brand strategy and market engagement, and Intel's newsroom says she reports directly to the CEO. Lara Balazs, Adobe's chief marketing officer and executive vice president of global marketing, lists communications beside brand, events, campaigns and social media. Kimberly Storin, Zoom's chief marketing officer, leads brand, communications, product marketing, enterprise marketing and regional marketing.
Kristin Huguet Quayle, Apple's vice president of worldwide communications, reports to the CEO, according to Apple's leadership page. Steve Clayton became Cisco's chief communications officer on January 5, 2026, reporting to chair and CEO Chuck Robbins. Dani Dudeck started as Netflix's chief communications officer on January 12, 2026, reporting to co-CEO Ted Sarandos.
Airbnb's September 1 memo from CEO Brian Chesky named Fallon O'Connor, previously vice president of global communications, head of communications and people. She leads recruiting, talent, and belonging and development as a People organization, and Airbnb says communications and people remain separate functions. For the role question behind these models, see CCO vs. CMO roles.
Which six communications changes were announced in the last year?
Six of the 12 companies announced a new communications leader or a structural change between December 15, 2025 and November 3, 2026. A change counts when a company or credible report announced a new leader or moved the function between portfolios, and the date shown is the first announcement.
| Date announced | Company | Change | Effective |
|---|
| Dec 15, 2025 | Intel | Annie Shea Weckesser named chief marketing and communications officer | Not stated in announcement |
| Dec 15, 2025 | Cisco | Steve Clayton named chief communications officer, hired from Microsoft | Jan 5, 2026 |
| Dec 15, 2025 | Netflix | Dani Dudeck named chief communications officer, hired from Instacart | Jan 12, 2026 |
| Sep 1, 2026 | Airbnb | Fallon O'Connor named head of communications and people | Sep 2026 |
| Late Sep 2026 | Microsoft | Communications moved from marketing to Corporate, External and Legal Affairs; interim leader named | Interim leader the following week |
| Nov 3, 2026 | OpenAI | Jill Hazelbaker named chief corporate affairs officer, hired from Uber | Early Dec 2026 |
Four of the six changes filled the role with an outside hire: Intel from SambaNova, Cisco from Microsoft, Netflix from Instacart and OpenAI from Uber. Airbnb promoted from within, and Microsoft has an interim leader while it searches. Intel, Cisco and Netflix all made their announcements on December 15, 2025.
Titles do not always follow backgrounds. Dudeck was chief corporate affairs officer at Instacart and Hazelbaker was chief corporate affairs officer at Uber, yet Netflix chose the title chief communications officer and OpenAI chose chief corporate affairs officer. Cisco's hire came from Microsoft, whose own chief communications officer announced his exit nine months later.
Does government affairs sit with communications at these companies?
Government affairs sits in the same organization as communications at Microsoft, inside the communications leader's remit at IBM and Spotify, and apart from it at Intel and Airbnb, according to the sources reviewed. The other six companies had no clear statement on either point, so the table covers six.
| Company | Government affairs | Internal communications |
|---|
| Microsoft | Same organization: Corporate, External and Legal Affairs includes legal, regulatory, public policy and government relations (PRovoke) | Not stated |
| IBM | Public affairs sits in Adashek's global affairs organization (IBM) | Not stated |
| Spotify | Government affairs sits under Jenkins | Internal communications sits under Jenkins |
| Intel | Separate: Robin Colwell was named senior vice president of government affairs in the same announcement | Employee communications sits in Weckesser's remit (Intel) |
| Airbnb | Separate: David Spielfogel, global head of public policy, reports to co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk (Skift) | Communications team handles internal communications and company forums (Axios) |
| Apple | Not stated | Employee communications sits in Quayle's remit (Apple) |
Seniority of the title varies as well. Apple's leader is a vice president and Amazon's is a senior vice president. Intel's and IBM's leaders are senior vice presidents with chief titles, and OpenAI, Spotify, Cisco, Netflix, Adobe and Zoom have chief officers. Airbnb's leader holds a head title, and Microsoft's interim leader is a vice president.
What do these structures mean for PR agencies pitching tech companies?
The way a technology client organizes communications changes who approves a pitch and what the pitch should prove. This section is Everything-PR analysis, not a measured finding.
| Model | Likely priorities | What to bring to the conversation |
|---|
| Corporate or public affairs | Policy, regulation, institutional trust | How a story connects to policymakers, regulators and stakeholders |
| Marketing | Brand, launches, market engagement | Coverage tied to launches, campaigns and commercial goals |
| Standalone communications | Media, executive and corporate reputation | Narrative, spokesperson readiness and issue preparation |
| Communications and people | Employee culture and public voice together | Programs that serve internal and external audiences at once |
Five questions map a tech communications buyer before a pitch:
- Who does the leader report to, and is that stated publicly?
- Does government affairs sit inside the remit or beside it?
- Is marketing inside the remit, and who holds the budget?
- Is the role permanent, interim or incoming?
- Which date is the announcement and which is the effective date?
Timing matters too: see the CEO succession communications playbook for how companies word leadership announcements, and the PR leaders directory for the executives involved. Before the next pitch to any of these 12 companies, check the leader's reporting line and whether government affairs and marketing sit inside the remit.
How was the sample chosen, and what are its limits?
Everything-PR selected the 12 companies by editorial judgment, not by random draw, so another reviewer could choose differently and find different counts. The list is not a ranking and not a complete group of technology companies.
The review draws on company newsrooms, executive biographies, corporate announcements and business reporting available by November 6, 2026. The limits are specific:
- Categories do not establish the full internal hierarchy, because a dedicated communications team may sit beneath a broader executive.
- OpenAI's appointment is incoming, and Microsoft's leadership is interim.
- Reporting lines appear only where a source states them, and everything else is marked "not stated."
- No historical comparison was run, so the review supports no trend claim and no industry-wide estimate.
- Company pages could not be located for Microsoft, Spotify, Amazon and Netflix, so those rows rest on trade reporting.
Other studies measure how common these arrangements are, which this review does not attempt. Korn Ferry's 2025 survey of Fortune 500 chief communications officers drew responses from 78 companies, and 47% of those leaders reported to the CEO, up from 40% in 2023, according to Ragan's summary. The Observatory on Corporate Reputation's 2024 study of the Fortune 1000 found that chief-communications titles combined with another function grew about 88% from 2019 to 2024, per Axios. The two measure different things and should not be compared directly. Earlier case-level coverage is in Fortune 500 communications changes, and more studies sit in the Everything-PR research hub.
Research appendix: the 12-company classification
The appendix lists each company's leader, model, reporting line, key date and best available source. Source type is shown because company pages are stronger evidence than trade reporting.
| Company | Leader and title | Model | Reporting line | Key date | Source |
|---|
| OpenAI | Jill Hazelbaker, chief corporate affairs officer (incoming) | Corporate or public affairs | President Greg Brockman | Announced Nov 3, 2026; starts early Dec | Trade: Fortune |
| Microsoft | Brent Colburn, interim communications leader | Corporate or public affairs | Brad Smith, vice chair and president | Late Sep 2026; Colburn through Dec | Trade: GeekWire |
| IBM | Jonathan Adashek, SVP and chief global affairs officer | Corporate or public affairs | Not stated | Joined 2020; marketing added 2022 | Company: IBM Newsroom |
| Spotify | Dustee Jenkins, chief public affairs officer | Corporate or public affairs | Not stated; on executive leadership team | Joined 2017 | Trade: PR Daily |
| Amazon | Drew Herdener, SVP communications and corporate responsibility | Corporate or public affairs | Not stated | Expanded role reported Aug 2024 | Trade: Axios |
| Intel | Annie Shea Weckesser, SVP and chief marketing and communications officer | Marketing | CEO | Announced Dec 15, 2025 | Company: Intel Newsroom |
| Adobe | Lara Balazs, chief marketing officer and EVP, global marketing | Marketing | CEO, at 2024 appointment | Appointed Dec 2024 | Company: Adobe leadership |
| Zoom | Kimberly Storin, chief marketing officer | Marketing | Not stated | Appointed Apr 2025 | Trade: UC Today |
| Apple | Kristin Huguet Quayle, VP worldwide communications | Standalone communications | CEO | Appointed Jan 2022 | Company: Apple leadership |
| Cisco | Steve Clayton, chief communications officer | Standalone communications | CEO Chuck Robbins | Announced Dec 15, 2025; effective Jan 5, 2026 | Company: Cisco blog |
| Netflix | Dani Dudeck, chief communications officer | Standalone communications | Co-CEO Ted Sarandos | Announced Dec 15, 2025; started Jan 12, 2026 | Trade: TheWrap |
| Airbnb | Fallon O'Connor, head of communications and people | Communications and people | Joins the CEO's leadership team | Memo Sep 1, 2026 | Company: Airbnb news |
Sources and corrections
Everything-PR compiled this review on November 6, 2026 from the linked company pages and trade reports, and readers should confirm any role against current company announcements. Send corrections through the Everything-PR contact page, and see the corrections policy for how errors are handled. Related coverage is in corporate communications and public affairs.
- OpenAI: Axios, Fortune, The Next Web
- Microsoft: GeekWire, ContentGrip, PRovoke Media
- IBM: IBM Newsroom
- Spotify: PR Daily, North Texan magazine
- Amazon: Axios
- Intel: Intel Newsroom, Intel biography
- Adobe: Adobe leadership, CMOtech
- Zoom: UC Today, Adweek
- Apple: Apple leadership
- Cisco: Cisco blog, GeekWire, SDxCentral
- Netflix: TheWrap, O'Dwyer's
- Airbnb: Airbnb news, Axios, HR Brew, Skift
