Amazon executive Jay Carney to join Airbnb as communications head

Jay Carney, the Amazon.com Inc executive who vastly expanded its lobbying and public affairs operation after a stint as White House press secretary, is joining Airbnb Inc as policy and communications head, the home rental startup said on Friday.

Carney, who worked at Amazon for seven years as Senior Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs, will start at Airbnb in September and report to co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky. He will be based in Washington.

In an email to Amazon's senior leadership team, seen by Reuters, CEO Andy Jassy said the online retailer would search immediately for a replacement, and Carney's public-policy lieutenants would report to General Counsel David Zapolsky. Drew Herdener, Amazon's top communications official, will now report to Jassy.


Carney said he was grateful to have worked at "an organization that mattered and had positive impact," and that the teams he leaves behind are in "very good hands," according to an email he wrote to Amazon's Global Corporate Affairs organization, seen by Reuters.

Before joining Amazon, Carney was White House press secretary for President Barack Obama.

Airbnb has faced a variety of regulatory challenges. In January, for instance, U.S. lawmakers raised concerns about the company's business activities in China's Xinjiang region.