A conversation with Amazon’s Jay Carney

On April 29, Walker & Dunlop hosted another installment of their Walker Webcast, this time featuring Amazon’s SVP of Global Corporate Affairs, Jay Carney.

Walker & Dunlop’s CEO, Willy Walker, and Jay discussed numerous topics, including:

• The steps Amazon took at the beginning of the crisis, and how Amazon is currently operating to meet demand
• How Amazon is keeping employees as safe as possible as they report to work
• The retail industry, both in general and as an asset class
• Predictions for May rent rolls and updates on forbearance, interest-only requests, and CMBS spreads

A bit about each speaker:

Willy Walker is chairman and chief executive officer of Walker & Dunlop. Under Mr. Walker’s leadership, Walker & Dunlop has grown from a small, family-owned business to become one of the largest commercial real estate finance companies in the United States. Walker & Dunlop is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and in its first seven years as a public company has seen its shares appreciate 547%.

Jay Carney joined Amazon in March 2015 to run the company’s new Global Corporate Affairs organization. In this role, he oversees Amazon’s Public Affairs and Public Policy divisions, and reports to CEO Jeff Bezos. From January 2011 through June 2014, Carney served as White House Press Secretary to President Obama. As press secretary, he was the primary spokesperson for the president, the administration and the United States government. Before moving to the White House, Carney spent 21 years as a reporter, 20 of them at Time Magazine. From 2005 – 2008, he was Time’s Washington Bureau Chief. Carney was raised in Virginia and earned a B.A. in Russian and East European Studies from Yale University. His wife, Claire Shipman, is the best-selling co-author of The Confidence Code and Womenomics. They live in Washington, D.C., with their two children.