The CEO Whisperer Bridging NYC’s Socialist-Business Divide

According to Business Insider, Yasser Salem, a 43-year-old McKinsey and Saudi Public Investment Fund alum who describes himself as an Ayn Rand fan, has launched the OneNYC political action committee to bridge the gap between democratic socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani and New York’s business elite. The PAC has raised nearly $400,000 from donors including Marblegate Asset Management CEO Andrew Milgram and has spent $53,000 on a TV ad, while Salem has personally met with over 70 CEOs—roughly 30 from large corporations—to address their concerns about Mamdani’s platform. Despite initial skepticism from Wall Street leaders like JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon and Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman, Salem claims business leaders are becoming more receptive following Mamdani’s surprise 12-point primary win and his recent announcement that he would retain NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch if elected. This unlikely alliance between corporate interests and progressive politics represents one of New York’s most fascinating political developments.

The McKinsey Method Applied to Progressive Politics

Salem’s approach reveals how consulting frameworks are being repurposed for political bridge-building. His background at McKinsey—where he helped build infrastructure for Saudi Arabia’s MERS response—provides him with the language and methodology to translate progressive policies into business-friendly terms. This isn’t traditional political organizing; it’s corporate strategy applied to political persuasion. The fact that Salem can cite specific studies, like Charles Komanoff’s research showing free buses would run 12% faster and generate $1.5 billion in economic benefits, demonstrates how he’s reframing socialist policies through efficiency and ROI lenses that resonate with business leaders.

The Shifting Corporate Calculus on Progressive Policies

What Salem’s success in gaining CEO audiences reveals is a fundamental shift in how business leaders approach progressive urban governance. The traditional corporate playbook would involve outright opposition to candidates like Mamdani, whose platform includes millionaire taxes and rent freezes. Instead, we’re seeing a pragmatic recognition that cities facing affordability crises require different solutions. Business leaders like Ralph Schlosstein, co-founder of BlackRock, acknowledge that higher-income residents might accept increased taxes if they translate to improved quality of life. This represents a maturation of corporate political strategy beyond reflexive opposition to anything labeled “socialist.”

The Risk of Co-optation Versus Genuine Reform

The most significant tension in Salem’s bridge-building effort lies in whether this represents genuine policy evolution or political co-optation. When Mamdani announces he’ll keep a police commissioner favored by business interests, is that pragmatic governance or concession to corporate pressure? The danger for progressive movements has always been that business engagement can dilute transformative policies into more palatable, less effective versions. Salem’s background suggests he understands this dynamic intimately—his ability to frame progressive policies in business terms could either help achieve meaningful change or strip those policies of their transformative potential.

The Broader Implications for Urban Politics

This experiment in New York could establish a new template for how progressive candidates engage with business communities in other major cities. If Salem’s OneNYC model proves successful, we might see similar efforts in cities like San Francisco, Chicago, and Los Angeles where tensions between progressive politics and business interests run high. The formation of a business advisory council that would advise a potential Mamdani administration suggests a structural approach to corporate-progressive collaboration that could outlast this particular election. However, the model’s sustainability depends on whether it can deliver tangible results for both constituencies without compromising core principles.

The Future of Corporate-Progressive Engagement

Looking beyond the immediate election, Salem’s work reveals a potential path for business leaders to engage with progressive policies without abandoning their fundamental interests. His emphasis on distinguishing between “labels and the actual meaning of the words” suggests a more nuanced corporate approach to political engagement. Rather than rejecting policies based on ideological branding, business leaders appear increasingly willing to evaluate specific proposals on their practical merits. This could lead to more productive urban governance but also risks creating a permanent tension between progressive movements and the corporate interests they traditionally challenge.