Ray LaHood joins Uber advisory board

Former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has joined Uber’s public policy advisory board, the ride-hailing company announced Wednesday.

{mosads}LaHood served as head of the Transportation Department from 2009 to 2013. Uber credited him with achieving more stringent fuel standards from automakers, taking measures to address airline pilot fatigue and bringing the problem of distracted driving into the national spotlight.

Prior to his role at the agency, LaHood represented Illinois in the U.S. House for nearly 15 years, serving on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Also joining Uber’s eight-member advisory board is Melody Barnes, the vice provost for global student leadership initiatives at New York University and a former domestic policy adviser to President Obama.

This isn’t the first time Uber has tapped someone from the realm of politics. David Plouffe, the operative who ran Obama’s first presidential campaign, was added to the board of directors last year.

Uber said in a post on Medium that the public policy advisory board held its first meeting earlier this week, where it had “vibrant discussions about every aspect of our business and the unique challenges and opportunities Uber faces around the world.”

Other members include Roberto Daniño, former prime minister of Peru; Allan Fels, professor at Melbourne, Monash and Oxford Universities; Neelie Kroes, former vice president of the European Commission; Gesner Oliveira, Former president of the Brazilian Administrative Council for Economic Defense; Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, founder and CEO of Alf Khair; and Adil Zainulbhai, chairman of the Quality Council of India.