New York is without a doubt the business capital of the world. The city has the nation’s third largest economy and its GDP is higher than the one produced by entire countries like Canada, Russia, or South Korea. In this article we take a look some of the most influential business people who are currently contributing to the city’s phenomenal success story.

1. Larry Fink, Blackrock

California-born Larry Fink currently serves as CEO and Chairman of New York-based investment management corporation BlackRock, also known as world’s largest money management company where managed assets are taken into account. After studying Political Science at UCLA and completing an MBA, Fink began a successful career in investment banking in New York. His business acumen is behind some of the largest deals in the city’s asset management history. Fink has acted as consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Google, AT&T, and the United Kingdom’s Treasury. In addition to his role at BlackRock, his influence extends to other executive boards such as New York University, Langone Medical Center, and the Partnership for New York City.

2. Lee Bollinger, Columbia University

Lee Bollinger has been President of Columbia University since 2002 and is one of the most influential CEOs in New York’s not-for-profit sector. Although he has a legal background, Bollinger has been mainly involved in the management of higher education institutions. Under his leadership, Columbia made it to the top-5 business schools in the country. He also led Columbia’s expansion plan with a focus on green building practices and on accommodating some of the university’s most innovation-focused departments. Bollinger is on the board of directors of Graham Holdings and is a board member of Pulitzer Prize.

3. Lynne Doughtie, KPGM LLP

Lynne Doughtie has spent much of her career (approximately 30 years) working for KPGM, known as one of the Big Four accounting corporations. She was put in charge of the Advisory division in 2011, and was behind the team that achieved annual revenue growth rates of 17 per cent. Doughtie is considered to be behind one of the company’s most rapid period of revenue growth. She has been Chairman of the New York-based firm since 2015 and currently serves as KPGM’s Chief Executive Officer. Moreover, she is a member of KPGM’s Executive Committee and Global Board and plays an instrumental role in high-level decision making within the firm. Doughtie has received several awards in recognition of her professional caliber, including the 2015 Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in Business Award and the 2016 Accounting Today Top 100 Most Influential People Award.

4. Dean Baquet, The New York Times

Dean Baquet is Executive Editor of the world’s most prestigious newspaper, known for its opinion-forming ability in political, economic and social issues. As such, Baquet is one of the most influential names in the media industry in New York. After working in some of the nation’s top newsrooms in Chicago and Los Angeles, he took the city’s top editorial job and brought digital subscriptions to a record-high of 1 million. Baquet has won the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting, as well as three William H. Jones Awards.

5. Chirlane McCray, Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City

Ms McCray is a political speechwriter who has worked as a public affairs specialist in the Clinton administration. She is considered the most influential person in local government despite not being in the mayor’s office payroll. McCray’s marriage to Bill di Blasio made her the First Lady of New York City, and she has her own public agenda focusing on public health and diversity issues.
Some of her key responsibilities include vetting high-level candidates for some of the city’s most coveted administration jobs and acting as chair to the board of the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, a charity organisation whose key priority areas include mental health, youth employment programs, and support to immigrant communities.

Sources:

(1) http://www.newsweek.com/economic-output-if-states-were-countries-california-would-be-france-467614
(2) http://nymag.com/news/features/influentials/16908/
(3) https://www.forbes.com/profile/larry-fink/
(4) http://www.businessinsider.com/the-10-best-ceos-in-new-york-2012-5?op=1&IR=T/#mickey-drexler-j-crew-4
(5) http://www.columbia.edu/node/6439.html
(6) http://fortune.com/most-powerful-women/lynne-doughtie-36/
(7) https://home.kpmg.com/xx/en/home/contacts/d/lynne-m-doughtie.html
(8) https://www.accountingtoday.com/2016-top-100-most-influential-people
(9) http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/05/dean-baquet-new-york-times-first-black-executive-editor.html
(10) http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/powerful-people-new-york-media-880895/item/samantha-bee-new-york-power-880908
(11) http://www.crainsnewyork.com/features/most-powerful-women-2015/details/10
(12) http://www1.nyc.gov/site/fund/about/board-of-directors.page