New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has appointed former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan as chair of the New York City Economic Development Corporation’s board, placing one of the country’s best-known antitrust regulators in a key role overseeing the city’s economic development agenda. Veteran city official Anthony Shorris was named president and chief executive of the agency.
The appointments, announced Wednesday, represent one of the most consequential personnel decisions of Mamdani’s administration to date and signal an effort to pair progressive economic policy priorities with experienced municipal management.
According to reporting by Deadline and Business Insider, Khan had been advising Mamdani’s administration informally and was widely viewed as a close ally of the mayor’s economic agenda. Business Insider first reported that the selection of Khan came as a surprise to many business leaders, given her reputation as one of the most aggressive antitrust enforcers of the Biden era.
Mamdani said the appointments are intended to ensure that economic development policies address affordability and economic opportunity across New York City’s five boroughs. In a statement released by City Hall, the mayor said Khan’s work combating exploitative business practices and Shorris’s extensive government experience would help reshape the city’s development priorities.
The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), a quasi-public nonprofit organization, plays a central role in the city’s economy. The agency manages city-owned properties, oversees major infrastructure and redevelopment projects, administers business incentive programs and supports entrepreneurship initiatives. According to the mayor’s office, the organization currently oversees roughly 60 million square feet of property and billions of dollars in active development projects.
Khan, 37, rose to national prominence during her tenure as FTC chair under former President Joe Biden, where she became closely associated with a more expansive approach to antitrust enforcement and competition policy. Her leadership at the FTC included efforts to challenge major technology mergers, scrutinize market concentration and pursue rules limiting noncompete agreements that regulators argued restricted worker mobility and entrepreneurship. The mayor’s office said Khan also focused on protecting small businesses and promoting more competitive markets during her time at the federal agency.
Her appointment is likely to draw particular attention because the NYCEDC has historically worked closely with major corporations, developers and financial institutions to attract investment and support business expansion in the nation’s largest city. Bloomberg Government reported that Mamdani described Khan’s prior work as targeting corporate monopolies that adversely affect consumers and working families.
Business groups and investors have closely followed the selection process for the leadership of the economic development agency amid broader questions about the new administration’s relationship with the private sector. According to Business Insider, some executives viewed Khan’s appointment as an unexpected move because of her confrontational approach toward corporate concentration and large-scale mergers during her FTC tenure.
At the same time, the appointment of Shorris, a former New York City first deputy mayor and current McKinsey & Co. partner, has been viewed by some observers as a stabilizing choice because of his decades of experience managing large public institutions and working across government and business sectors. The mayor’s office highlighted Shorris’s role in overseeing major city initiatives, including housing, transportation and labor programs during previous administrations.
Khan has maintained a public profile in antitrust and competition policy since leaving the FTC, currently serving as an associate professor at Columbia Law School and directing its Center for Law and the Economy, according to City Hall. She previously served as counsel to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee and became widely known for scholarship arguing that existing competition frameworks were insufficient to address market power in the digital economy.
The appointments also come amid heightened national attention on competition policy and market concentration. During the Biden administration, federal regulators pursued a more assertive approach toward antitrust enforcement, particularly in technology, healthcare and labor markets, prompting significant debate among businesses, policymakers and legal experts over the future direction of U.S. competition law.
In announcing the appointments, city officials said Khan and Shorris will work alongside Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su to use development tools, including city-owned land and investment programs, to support affordable housing, job creation and small-business growth.
Khan said in a statement that the economic development corporation has an important role in ensuring New York’s economy becomes more affordable, resilient and efficient for residents. Shorris said he looked forward to working with business leaders, labor organizations and communities to expand economic opportunity across the city.
Source: Deadline
