Matt Shay has just been named president and chief executive officer of the National Retail Federation.

Shay has plenty of experience heading a trade association: he comes over from the International Franchise Association, where he was named president in 2004 and CEO in 2007. Shay, an Ohio native, started off his career with the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants. At NRF, he succeeds the retiring Tracy Mullin.

After meeting with the executive committee and the board, Shay says the goal of the group is to make sure that "the footprint that the NRF and the retail industry have in Washington on an advocacy basis, reflects the economic footprint that the retail industry has in local communities across the country and in our economy."

When asked about potentially bringing in more lobbyists or manpower in D.C., Shay said it was premature to discuss that just yet.

Legislatively, Shay expects NRF to be focused on health care, immigration, financial services and consumer matters, as well as trade. But Shay says the absolute top priority of the organization is job creation and reviving the economy.

"Unless and until we get those things done right, we can't do anything else. And we really shouldn't be doing anything else. It's not responsible," says Shay. "This is obviously important for a group that represents retailers. If consumer confidence is low and people don't have access to credit, and they're not making expenditures and purchases, then our members can't create jobs."

NRF considered a merger with the Retail Industry Leaders Association last year, but ultimately a decision was made to remain two separate entities. (See National Journal's story in August 2009, subscription required)

When asked if the idea a merger with RILA might be revisited, he said, "On paper, the idea of a single, unified organization representing the entire retail industry makes perfectly good sense." But Shay says, "the devil is always is in the details. I think done right, it still makes a tremendous amount of sense. But we're just going to have to go forward. And at NRF, we've got the staff and the resources and the diverse membership to deliver a high level of value to our members."

Before the Shay annoucement, retail giant JCPenney last week announced they weren't renewing their membership with the NRF this year.

NRF, like the IFA group that Shay formerly headed, has given more money to Republicans than Democrats in recent election cycles. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, NRF's political action committee has contributed 67 percent of its dollars to GOP federal candidates, and 33 percent to Democrats in the 2010 cycle. In 2008, NRF gave 61 percent to Republicans and 39 percent to Democrats. During the 2004 election cycle, the numbers were more lopsided, with NRF giving 88 percent to Republicans and 12 percent to Democrats.

(Photo of Shay courtesy of NRF)