Lina Khan, an antitrust crusader who targeted Big Tech companies during her run as head of the Federal Trade Commission, has been named chair of the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
The appointment by Mayor Zohran Mamdani was a surprise, and the latest indication of the leftward shift of the government of the largest U.S. city.
In a statement, Mamdani said Khan “has fought exploitation and dishonesty in courtrooms and classrooms across the country, and given us the blueprint for a government that delivers for working people. As chair of the EDC board of directors, I know that Lina will not only steer our administration’s economic development efforts toward a new era of opportunity, but ensure justice is the driving principle behind all of our work.”
Along with Khan’s new role, Mamdani said former deputy mayor and city official Anthony Shorris would lead the EDC as CEO. Along with his 25 years of public service, he has spent 15 years in the academic and non-profit realms, also recently becoming a partner at McKinsey & Co.
The EDC “has a vital role to play in ensuring that New York’s economy is growing in ways that make our city more affordable, efficient and resilient,” Khan said. “I look forward to working with the administration to advance this vision and make life materially better for New Yorkers.”
Khan first hit the national radar in 2017 with a Yale Law Journal article that argued Amazon was a monopoly. Appointed by President Biden to head the FTC at the age of 34, she brought antitrust actions against Amazon and other Big Tech firms, arguing they had been allowed to amass undue power. In 2024, just prior to that year’s presidential election, she acknowledged that the Biden-era crackdown on antitrust violations had made life “uncomfortable for some people.”
The EDC moves come more than six months into Mamdani’s tenure. Elected last fall on a Democratic Socialist platform, the mayor has promised to deliver a range of ambitious offerings for residents, including free buses, city-subsidized grocery stores and rent freezes. Many prominent business leaders have been publicly critical of him, voicing concerns that his agenda would force large corporations to leave the city, though no wide-scale flight has taken place as of yet.
Commercial occupancy levels in the city, along with retail spending and public transit usage, have gradually been returning to near pre-Covid levels after several difficult years due to the pandemic and other factors. Given that struggle as well as ongoing wariness of Mamdani’s plans, Khan’s appointment drew predictable backlash online, with critics citing her lack of business or corporate experience.
Appearing at a press briefing alongside Mamdani, Khan cited the multi-faceted mission of the EDC, whose mission is to promote the city as a business hub but also support neighborhoods and create sustainable infrastructure. “EDC has enormous capacity to make life materially better for New Yorkers,” Khan said. “I know from my own time in government that you need the right people in key roles if you want to get anything done.”