SAN FRANCISCO: Uber’s director of corporate comms Nairi Hourdajian is departing the ridesharing company to join venture firm Canaan Partners as VP, communications.
Hourdajian starts at Canaan, which is an early stage investment firm that has been around since 1987, on November 1. She will work closely with Canaan’s portfolio of founders during the early stages of their companies.
She declined to comment on her new role.
Canaan Partners general partner Maha Ibrahim said via email that Hourdajian brings "great energy and unique experience in tech and politics" to Canaan.
"We are thrilled to welcome her to the team," Ibrahim added. "With [Hourdajian’s] leadership, we are excited to expand the services we offer to early stage entrepreneurs."
Hourdajian has been with Uber since June 2013, when she joined as the company's first comms person. According to her LinkedIn profile, when she joined, Hourdajian was head of global communications and stepped into her most recent role last August.
"[Hourdajian] is a talented executive who helped build Uber’s policy and communications team from the ground up," an Uber spokesperson said via email. "We are grateful for her hard work and commitment to Uber and we wish her the best in her new role. Canaan is lucky to have her."
Canaan raised $675 million for its tenth investment fund in 2014 and has approximately $4 billion under management. The company recently expanded its Bay Area presence into San Francisco, where more of Canaan’s entrepreneurs are based.
In late September, the investment firm hired Joydeep Bhattacharyya and Rich Boyle as partners, responsible for enterprise software investments.
In 2014, Hourdajian made PRWeek’s Innovation 50 list for her work at Uber. Previously, spent time at Glover Park Group for two years, first as director of strategic comms and later as VP, strategic comms.
Target CMO Jeff Jones recently announced he is joining Uber as president, ridesharing - Jones will be responsible for operations, marketing, and customer support globally.
He replaces Ryan Graves in the position. Graves will continue to be integrally involved with Uber as its "resident entrepreneur and builder," explained Uber CEO and cofounder Travis Kalanick via a post on his company’s website in late August. Graves will lead Uber’s people operations with Jason Droege and work with Kalanick on strategic projects.
