Amazon hires Thomson, former DOT general counsel, to fill new legal role

E-tailer Amazon.com, Inc. has hired Kathryn B. Thomson, a former general counsel at the Department of Transportation and former chief counsel at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), to fill the newly created post of vice president and associate general counsel, transportation, and logistics.

Thomson, who started at Seattle-based Amazon on Monday, will be the company's lead attorney on global and domestic transportation and logistics issues, she said in an e-mail. She will work with Amazon's operations and policy teams on legal matters relating to legislation, regulations, and general public policy development.

Thomson, 52, was DOT general counsel from May 2013 to May 2016. All told, she spent seven and a half years at the agency, which included her stint as FAA chief counsel. She served as counselor to then-Transport Secretary Ray LaHood on energy and climate change issues, and led DOT in working with the White House and Congress to set fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and trucks. During her time at FAA, the agency began work to integrate the use of drones into the national airspace system.

Thomson will divide her time between Seattle and Washington, D.C.

Thomson's new role could take on added prominence as Amazon builds a global transport and logistics infrastructure to handle the fulfillment and deliveries of its shipments and those of third-party merchants that rely on the company's fulfillment operations to get their goods to market.