In late April, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani met with Hamdi Ulukaya, the billionaire CEO of yogurt maker Chobani. The message Ulukaya delivered was loud and clear: You need to learn to talk to CEOs.

At the time, Mamdani was mired in outrage from the business community over a video touting a new pied-à-terre tax that was shot right outside Ken Griffin's luxury apartment, a move many of the city's wealthy felt was mean-spirited and disregarded their safety. The mayor would later tell confidantes that he didn't foresee the blowback, and he would do it differently if he could.

"You should have a regular dialogue with the business community," Ulukaya told Mamdani, according to Kathryn Wylde, the former CEO of the Partnership for New York City, who was also at the meeting.

Four months later, the mayor's office named a 15-member business advisory council to do just that. But in a city where wealth and power can confer its own kind of celebrity status, the names announced Thursday weren't among those appearing in boldface in society columns. No major Wall Street banks, hedge funds or private-equity companies are among those represented.

The council's makeup, which includes the CEO of the WNBA's New York Liberty and a smattering of investment and insurance executives, appears to reflect the difficulty an outspoken democratic socialist might have in recruiting capitalists. The city was also on the lookout for executives who would also be supportive of the administration's agenda.

That was somewhat new ground for Mamdani, perhaps the most high-profile member of the Democratic Socialists of America, which has called for the dismantling of the country's capitalist system.

A spokesman for the DSA didn't return a request for comment about Mamdani's picks.

"It's an honest effort by the mayor to get direct input from a group of business people that are not part of his natural constituency," said Wylde, who sometimes acts as an informal adviser to the mayor. "He isn't used to messaging to this constituency, and doesn't necessarily anticipate how they're going to react to various policies or statements."

The council comes as the realities of governing the financial capital of the U.S. have come into focus for the 34-year-old mayor. Mamdani remains popular and influential, commanding high approval numbers from likely voters and acting as a kingmaker for candidates who can enact his affordability agenda. But his willingness to provoke billionaires and executives has created headaches for City Hall.

His Griffin video hasn't been the only clash with the city's power elite. The rollout of the names and addresses of homeowners on the hook for the new pied-à-terre tax-intended to tap the wealth of rich non-New Yorkers-included thousands of full-time residents. Some have criticized an economic development group, responsible for iconic megaprojects like the Highline, that has been focused on a handful of city-run grocery stores.

More recently, there are signs Mamdani has warmed to some of his richest constituents.

"Bill and I don't agree on much, but on this we do," Mamdani wrote this week on X, in a post quoting billionaire investor Bill Ackman criticizing the U.S. Open for the cost of tickets. The mayor announced on Tuesday he would make 1,000 tickets available at $100 a pop through the city.

"Here is hoping there is more room for agreement. Well done on the Open," replied Ackman, who has been critical of Mamdani in the past.

The mayor has made other conciliatory gestures to the city's capitalist class. He has visited with Wall Street titans like Jamie Dimon, cut red tape for small businesses and trumpeted the surge in corporate real-estate rentals. CEOs have groused that these can seem like token gestures.

So far, the council hasn't provoked a reaction, good or bad.

"The purpose of the Council is to help shape the administration's economic development policies based on direct feedback from business leaders across key sectors," a spokesman for the mayor said.

Among its members are Ulukaya, who has promised to give away most of his fortune, and plans to use part of Chobani's new city offices to incubate food startups. Marcus Samuelsson, the celebrity chef, is involved in multiple charities to feed youth and help jump-start careers in the culinary industry.

Another member is Priscilla Sims Brown, the CEO of Amalgamated Bank, and the only active head of a bank.

Amalgamated, which was founded in 1923 by labor organizer Sidney Hillman, is one of the smaller financial institutions in the country's financial nerve center, with a single branch in Manhattan.

"I don't see my role as speaking for Wall Street-I'm there to bring the perspective of Amalgamated's clients and communities," Brown said in a statement.

The council's first meeting is tentatively scheduled for the end of September, though it is unclear what is on the agenda. Even less certain is whether the council will be able to smooth relations with Mamdani's fiercest critics.

A spokesman for Griffin demurred when asked whether the billionaire had any thoughts about the council. "I don't think this is a piece that needs Ken's voice," he said.