Jay Carney

Amazon.com, a technology company obsessed with secrecy, is hiring a former press secretary for President Obama, whose administration has been widely criticized for its aggressive leak investigations. Jay Carney, who resigned as the president's chief spokesman last spring, is joining Amazon as senior vice president for global corporate affairs, a new position, the retailer said Thursday. It's an unusual hire for the Seattle-based company, which tends to groom its talent internally rather than bring in prominent outsiders. Mr. Carney, who begins his new job on Monday, will report to Jeff Bezos, Amazon's founder and CEO.