SEATTLE, WA - Following more than five years with Amazon, the retail behemoth recently announced that its acting public policy and communications chief, Jay Carney, who operated under the role of Senior Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs, will be departing from the company.

“I wanted to let you know that Jay Carney, who has run Global Corporate Affairs the last seven years, has decided to leave Amazon at the end of August to pursue other opportunities,” wrote Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy in an internal memo obtained by CNBC.

“Since joining the company in 2015, Jay has scaled and led the Public Policy and Public Relations teams across all of our businesses and geographies with the overarching goal of ensuring that policymakers, reporters, and customers are all accurately informed about Amazon’s contributions to economic growth, job creation, innovation, and sustainability—as well as our unmatched focus on customers,” Jassy continued.

According to a report from CNBC, Carney joined Amazon after having served as White House Press Secretary under President Barack Obama from 2011–2014. Prior to that, he was a political journalist for two decades with Time magazine.

As the retailer’s public policy and communications chief, Carney helped strengthen Amazon’s relationships with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Throughout his time with the company, he also gained prominence and was even part of Jeff Bezos’ elite S-team.

Upon announcing Carney’s departure from the company, Jassy noted that he will begin a search for his replacement immediately.

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