{"id":6153,"date":"2026-08-27T19:13:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T19:13:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6153"},"modified":"2026-08-27T19:13:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T19:13:26","slug":"zohran-mamdanis-business-council-includes-the-ceos-of-chobani-and-etsy-but-wall-street-and-big-tech-turned-him-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6153","title":{"rendered":"Zohran Mamdani\u2019s business council includes the CEOs of Chobani and Etsy. But Wall Street and Big Tech turned him down"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mamdani announced Thursday morning the launch of a new Business Advisory Council spanning finance, real estate, health care, technology, sports and retail, an effort to bring some of New York\u2019s most prominent business leaders to the table with a democratic socialist mayor whose economic agenda has 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.<\/p>\n

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Taking a closer look, one might notice some of the biggest names in New York business are notably absent. The council includes no current executives from JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, American Express or BlackRock, nor from tech giants Meta or Alphabet.<\/p>\n

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Last year, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon told Fortune<\/em> that he would offer to help Mamdani if he became mayor, while also describing his movement as \u201cmore Marxist than socialist.\u201d<\/p>\n

City Hall approached at least three prominent business leaders who ultimately did not join: Bank of America\u2019s New York City president Jose Tavarez, former American Express CEO Ken Chenault and private equity executive Charles Phillips, according to the New York Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n

A Bank of America spokeswoman declined to comment to the Times<\/em>, while Chenault and Phillips did not respond to the newspaper\u2019s requests for comment. Fortune<\/em> has reached out to all three for comment, along with JPMorgan.<\/p>\n

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A spokesman for Mamdani told the New York Times<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s talent pipeline and regulatory environment, the mayor\u2019s office said in the statement Thursday.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe doors of City Hall are always open to New York\u2019s business leaders, and I look forward to welcoming their experience and strategic guidance as we build a stronger, more dynamic economy,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n

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The council represents Mamdani\u2019s latest attempt to establish a working relationship with a business community that has been wary of his economic agenda. The makeup of the group shows some success: 15 executives agreed to join, including leaders in real estate, finance, tech and health care. But the absence of current executives from several of the city\u2019s largest financial and technology companies underscores the divide that remains.<\/p>\n

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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, according to the Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Mamdani campaigned on an ambitious affordability agenda that included freezing rents for stabilized apartments and making city buses free, while proposing higher taxes on corporations and wealthy New Yorkers to help pay for his plans.<\/p>\n

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Still, several major figures from New York business have agreed to work with him. The full 15-member council includes:<\/p>\n

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