New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is bringing 15 business leaders into City Hall. This move comes as he looks to mend a rocky relationship between his administration and some of the city's most powerful executives. Mamdani has recently announced a new Business Advisory Council spanning finance, real estate, health care, technology, sports and retail. However, on closer inspection, one might notice that some of the biggest names in New York business are notably absent from the council. It includes neither current executives from JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, American Express, or BlackRock nor from tech giants like Facebook-parent Meta or Google-parent Alphabet. This comes as an effort to bring some of New York's most prominent business leaders to the table with the city’s mayor, whose economic decisions have often put him at odds with the business community. Its members include Chobani founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya, Etsy CEO Kruti Patel Goyal, RXR chairman and CEO Scott Rechler and New York Liberty CEO Keia Clarke."The doors of City Hall are always open to New York's business leaders, and I look forward to welcoming their experience and strategic guidance as we build a stronger, more dynamic economy," Mamdani said.
Some top executives who have said no to Zohran Mamdani's council
According to a report by the New York Times, City Hall approached at least three more prominent business leaders who ultimately did not join the council. This includes Bank of America's New York City president Jose Tavarez, former American Express CEO Ken Chenault and private equity executive Charles Phillips. Last year, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon told Fortune that he would offer to help Mamdani if he became mayor, while also describing his movement as "more Marxist than socialist." A spokesman for Mamdani told NYT that he could not discuss individual conversations with prospective members but said there were several reasons some executives did not end up on the council. Some could not accommodate the time commitment, others did not receive clearance from their companies, and some were concerned about the amount of media attention surrounding the group. The council will meet quarterly with Mamdani and Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su and advise City Hall on industries including finance, technology, real estate, entertainment, and health care, as well as infrastructure, the city's talent pipeline, and the regulatory environment, the mayor's office said in the statement.
List of business leaders who signed on for Zohran Mamdani’s Business Advisory Council
Major figures from New York business have agreed to work with Mamdani. The full 15-member council includes:
Brandon Blackwood, CEO of Brandon Blackwood New York
Priscilla Sims Brown, president and CEO of Amalgamated Bank
Rafael Cestero, CEO of the Community Preservation Corporation
Keia Clarke, CEO of the New York Liberty
John D'Angelo, president and CEO of Northwell Health
Kruti Patel Goyal, CEO of Etsy
Tony James, chairman of Jefferson River Capital
Scott Rechler, chairman and CEO of RXR
Kevin Ryan, founder and CEO of AlleyCorp
Marcus Samuelsson, chef and restaurateur
Doug Steiner, chairman of Steiner Studios
Hamdi Ulukaya, founder and CEO of Chobani
Pat Wang, president and CEO of Healthfirst
Antonio Weiss, partner at SSW and former Treasury official
Robert Wolf, CEO of 32 Advisors and former chairman and CEO of UBS Americas
While some of Wall Street's biggest current executives are still missing, the council includes several veterans of major financial institutions. Tony James is the former president and chief operating officer of Blackstone, Robert Wolf previously served as chairman and CEO of UBS Americas, while Antonio Weiss previously headed investment banking at Lazard. The decision over whether to join had become a point of debate on Wall Street, with some executives weighing the opportunity to influence policies affecting their businesses against concerns that participation could be seen as an endorsement of policies they oppose, the NYT report added. Mamdani campaigned on an ambitious affordability agenda that included freezing rents for stabilised apartments and making city buses free, while proposing higher taxes on corporations and wealthy New Yorkers to help pay for his plans.
Some members joining the council have not always agreed with Zohran Mamdani
Some members joining the council have not always agreed with Mamdani. For example, Scott Rechler told NYT that he had directly raised concerns with the mayor over his rhetoric on Israel, but said he believed it was important to engage with leaders even when they disagree. During the council’s announcement, Rechler said he has found Mamdani and his team to be "constructive and responsive partners" since the mayor took office and said he plans to provide "candid input" through the council."The biggest challenges we face cannot be solved by business or government alone," Hamdi Ulukaya said during the announcement. "They require us to come together, listen to one another and work with a shared sense of purpose." The council launches as New York City employment sits near a record high. The city had 4.85 million jobs as of July, according to figures cited by the Mamdani administration, while the unemployment rate stood at 5%.
