Jay Carney, the top communications and policy executive at Amazon and a one-time White House spokesman, has been named Airbnb’s head of policy, marking another high-profile departure for the company. Amazon as it faces a changing consumer landscape and increasing regulatory scrutiny.
Carney, who served as press secretary to the President Barack Obamawill participate Airbnbexecutive team and work with co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky, the company said in a Friday blog post.
“Jay has worked at the highest levels of both government and technology, serving as a strategic advisor to the President and at one of the largest tech companies in the world,” Chesky said in the post. .
Carney will join Airbnb in September in Washington, DC.
Amazon has seen a string of departures since Andy Jassy succeeded its founder Jeff Bezos as CEO last summer. This month, Dave Clark, the chief executive of Amazon’s consumer business who oversaw Amazon’s logistics expansion, left the company after 23 years. Clark, who will join logistics startup Flexport in September, is replaced by Doug Herrington, another executive who helped launch Amazon Fresh in 2017.
Carney started with Amazon seven years ago and runs the company’s global corporate affairs organization, reporting directly to the CEO. He oversaw Amazon’s public relations and policy, focusing on the company’s relationships with lawmakers and The White House.
Carney was the White House press secretary from 2011 to 2014 after serving as communications director for the then Vice President. Joe Biden.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
