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eaa5 SEATTLE — Jay Carney, who eaa5 was press secretary for former eaa5 President Barack Obama, is leaving eaa5 the highest coverage and public eaa5 communications job at Amazon to eaa5 affix Airbnb.
eaa5 Airbnb stated in a weblog eaa5 put up on Friday that eaa5 Mr. Carney would turn into eaa5 its world head of coverage eaa5 and communications.
eaa5 Mr. Carney, a former journalist eaa5 at Time journal, eaa5 joined Amazon in 2015 eaa5 as its first senior eaa5 vp of worldwide affairs, combining eaa5 public relations and authorities lobbying eaa5 as the corporate confronted rising eaa5 scrutiny. Mr. Carney fiercely protected eaa5 Amazon’s picture and that of eaa5 his boss, Jeff Bezos, one eaa5 of many richest males on eaa5 this planet.
eaa5 Mr. Carney’s departure is one eaa5 among a number of modifications eaa5 atop Amazon eaa5 a 12 months into the eaa5 tenure of Andy Jassy eaa5 , who succeeded eaa5 Mr. Bezos eaa5 as the corporate’s chief eaa5 government final July. Mr. Jassy, eaa5 who beforehand constructed and ran eaa5 Amazon’s cloud computing enterprise, is eaa5 understood for his consideration and eaa5 curiosity in particulars and has eaa5 dug into elements of the eaa5 corporate which are newly beneath eaa5 his management.
eaa5 Dave Clark, the architect of eaa5 Amazon’s logistics enlargement, eaa5 introduced final month eaa5 that he was leaving eaa5 earlier than a successor was eaa5 named. John Felton, a transportation eaa5 government, changed Mr. Clark because eaa5 the chief government of Amazon’s eaa5 retail and operations enterprise. Two eaa5 of the corporate’s eaa5 most senior Black executives eaa5 , who had been Mr. eaa5 Felton’s friends, additionally departed.
eaa5 Mr. Jassy introduced Mr. Carney’s eaa5 departure in an e-mail to eaa5 his senior management group, praising eaa5 Mr. Carney for “his many eaa5 important accomplishments on behalf of eaa5 Amazon’s clients and staff, for eaa5 serving to us construct a eaa5 powerful set of capabilities in eaa5 Public Coverage and PR.” The eaa5 New York Instances obtained the eaa5 e-mail.
eaa5 “All the pieces about my eaa5 time at Amazon has exceeded eaa5 my expectations,” Mr. Carney stated eaa5 in an e-mail to his eaa5 group on Friday, which was eaa5 additionally obtained by The Instances. eaa5 Mr. Carney didn’t present a eaa5 remark when contacted on Thursday.
eaa5 Amazon faces extra regulatory threats eaa5 from governments world wide now eaa5 than at any time in eaa5 its historical past. The Federal eaa5 Commerce Fee, led by an eaa5 Amazon critic, Lina Khan, is eaa5 conducting a broad investigation into eaa5 whether or not the corporate’s eaa5 practices broke antitrust regulation. Lawmakers eaa5 can also vote this 12 eaa5 months on laws that might eaa5 cease Amazon from prioritizing its eaa5 personal merchandise, like batteries and eaa5 trash baggage, over these bought eaa5 by opponents in its on-line eaa5 market.
eaa5 Amazon’s public relations specialists and eaa5 lobbyists have promoted the corporate eaa5 as a signature employer and eaa5 boon to native economies the eaa5 place it operates. In 2018, eaa5 the corporate introduced a minimal eaa5 wage of $15 an hour, eaa5 drawing reward from its frequent eaa5 critic, Senator Bernie Sanders, impartial eaa5 of Vermont.
eaa5 However Mr. Carney’s group received eaa5 a black eye throughout Amazon’s eaa5 seek for a second headquarters, eaa5 when in 2018 it underestimated eaa5 the progressive backlash it will eaa5 face in probably constructing a eaa5 serious presence in New York. eaa5 Amazon finally reversed course and eaa5 selected one other location.
eaa5 Mr. Carney’s group additionally confronted eaa5 criticism after an official Amazon eaa5 Twitter account dismissed a congressman’s eaa5 concern final 12 months that eaa5 employees needed to urinate in eaa5 bottles whereas on the job. eaa5 The corporate eaa5 apologized eaa5 .
eaa5 Extra just lately, Mr. Carney’s eaa5 group has mounted a vigorous eaa5 response to the antitrust laws, eaa5 which Amazon has stated would eaa5 make it troublesome to supply eaa5 its signature quick delivery of eaa5 its Prime subscription service. The eaa5 corporate spent roughly $9.1 million eaa5 on federal lobbying in 2015. eaa5 Final 12 months, it spent eaa5 $19.3 million.
eaa5 Drew Herdener, who heads public eaa5 relations beneath Mr. Carney, was eaa5 promoted to senior vp on eaa5 Thursday, in accordance with 4 eaa5 folks with information of the eaa5 inner announcement. The communications group eaa5 has grown from 10 folks eaa5 to “a number of hundred,” eaa5 Mr. Herdener stated in an eaa5 eaa5 interview eaa5 final fall, including that eaa5 Amazon had employed 200 communications eaa5 professionals within the earlier 12 eaa5 months alone.
eaa5 As the corporate searches for eaa5 a brand new head of eaa5 worldwide affairs, Mr. Herdener will eaa5 report on to Mr. Jassy, eaa5 and the coverage groups will eaa5 report back to David Zapolsky, eaa5 the final counsel, in accordance eaa5 with the e-mail.
eaa5 Airbnb has been on the eaa5 lookout for its personal head eaa5 of coverage and communications after eaa5 Chris Lehane, a former aide eaa5 to Invoice Clinton, left for eaa5 a cryptocurrency enterprise capital fund eaa5 earlier this 12 months.
eaa5 Erin Griffith eaa5 contributed reporting.
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