By Byron Tau
WASHINGTON--Some of President Barack Obama's most-senior aides
are finding their next jobs in the upper ranks of the technology
industry, a departure from traditional post-government paths
leading to corporate lobbying, Wall Street or industries such as
telecommunications and energy.
Online retailer Amazon said this week that former White House
press secretary Jay Carney would join the company as senior vice
president for global corporate affairs, reporting directly to Chief
Executive Jeff Bezos.
Former Obama campaign manager and White House adviser David
Plouffe joined the car-hailing service Uber last year to improve
the company's image and work on regulatory issues.
Other top White House aides have worked at electric car maker
Tesla, or Internet giants Twitter and Facebook, among them former
special assistant to the president Elizabeth Jarvis-Shean, former
director of citizen participation Katie Jacobs Stanton and former
special assistant to the president Sarah Feinberg.
The allure of the tech industry as a post-government career path
is another sign of the sector's financial clout and rising stature
in Washington. In previous eras, running the Washington office of a
major corporation--often telecommunications or energy companies--or
joining a for-hire lobbying firm was the most common career path
after one in public service.
For administration officials who like the idea of having an
immediate impact, the fast-paced tech industry is a draw. Google,
Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft have big Washington operations and
public relations needs. Their rise in power comes as the broader
lobbying world has become crowded in recent years, as growth and
revenues have flatlined since 2010.
Many top Obama loyalists, such as former deputy campaign manager
Stephanie Cutter and former press secretary Robert Gibbs, have
followed a more familiar path, opening Washington consulting and
communications firms that take corporate and nonprofit clients
looking for advocacy work and policy advice.
Others have looked for career paths beyond Washington. Tommy
Vietor, a former National Security Council spokesman who now runs
his own consulting firm, said that many young White House and
campaign aides had fewer institutional ties to the city than those
in previous administrations. He added that it was natural that many
would follow a path different from their predecessors in the George
W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations.
"The Obama team, by and large, weren't Washington lifers," said
Mr. Vietor, who relocated from Washington to San Francisco recently
and does some work for tech companies.
There are so many former Obama staffers in the Bay Area that a
recent visit by former White House senior adviser David Axelrod
served as a reunion of sorts, with more than a dozen campaign and
White House veterans gathering over lunch earlier this month to
discuss life after the administration.
And the list of Obama staffers who have joined Silicon Valley
companies or tech startups is only growing.
Brandon Lepow, who worked on the Obama campaign before joining
the communications shop in the White House, is now a policy
communications manager at Facebook. Semonti Stephens, who served on
first lady Michelle Obama's staff, now works for the mobile
payments company Square.
Former White House Speech writer Kyle O'Connor now works in
communications at Nest, a company that manufactures smart
thermostats and smoke detectors. Three White House staffers are
currently working at the short-term rental website Airbnb: Nick
Papas, Clark Stevens and Courtney O'Donnell.
Several Obama campaign veterans were also involved in the launch
of Peers, an association and advocacy group representing Airbnb and
other so-called "shared economy" companies.
Access Investor Kit for Facebook, Inc.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US30303M1027
Access Investor Kit for Google, Inc.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US38259P5089
Access Investor Kit for Google, Inc.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US38259P7069
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires