Jay Carney, the top policy and communications executive at Amazon and one-time White House spokesman, has been named the head of policy at Airbnb, marking another high-profile departure for Amazon as it faces a shifting consumer landscape and heightened regulatory scrutiny.
Carney, who served as the press secretary for President
Barack Obama, will join Airbnb's executive team and work with co-founder and
CEO Brian Chesky, the company said in a Friday blog post.
Carney will join Airbnb in September in Washington, DC.
Amazon has seen string of departures since Andy Jassy
succeeded founder Jeff Bezos as CEO last summer. This month, Dave Clark, the
chief executive of Amazon's consumer business who oversaw a mass expansion of
Amazon's logistics footprint, left the company after 23 years. Clark, who will
join the logistics startup Flexport in September, was replaced by Doug
Herrington, another executive who helped launch Amazon Fresh in 2017.
Carney started with Amazon seven years ago and ran the
company's global corporate affairs organisation, reporting directly to the CEO.
He oversaw Amazon's policy and public relations, focusing on the company's
relationship with lawmakers and the White House.
Carney was White House press secretary from 2011 to 2014
after serving as director of communications for then Vice President Joe Biden.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.