New York City’s Indian-origin Mayor Zohran Mamdani has recently included a Pakistani-origin woman in his team. A few days ago, Mamdani included former Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chair Leena Khan in his transition team.

Pakistani-born and Britain-born Democrat Leena Khan has faced the displeasure of many big companies due to her strict anti-trust policies. According to reports, Leena Khan was born in Britain. But, his parents are Pakistani. She went to America at the age of 11.

Who is Leena Khan?

Leena Khan served as the Chair of FTC (Federal Trade Commission) from 15 June 2021 to 20 January 2025. She became the youngest head ever to lead this antitrust and consumer protection agency. She reached this post at the age of 32 during the tenure of former President Joe Biden.

According to the FTC’s website, Lina Khan began her career as a business reporter and researcher in the antitrust field, where she studied increasing corporate consolidation in various markets.

What will be the work in Mamdani’s team?

Leena Khan said in an interview with Pod Safe America that she is trying to understand how much power the post of mayor has, so that proper preparation can be done before Mamdani takes over on January 1, 2026.

She is advising Zohran Mamdani on economic policies and appointments (personal). He said part of his role is to ensure that the new administrative team can deliver on its very ambitious agenda to make the city more affordable.

Action against Amazon-Microsoft

As chair of the FTC during the Biden administration, Lina Khan took action against tech giants — such as Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft — in several major cases, some of which failed. She was not successful in stopping Microsoft’s acquisition of video game giant Activision-Blizzard.

He also blocked the merger between grocery companies Kroger and Albertsons and moved to ban non-compete agreements that prevent job switching.

According to Bloomberg, his actions angered Wall Street and a number of billionaires — including LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, IAC Chairman Barry Diller and venture capital investors Vinod Khosla, Peter Thiel and others. These people accused him of waging a war against trade and not helping America.