In a move that seemed designed to satisfy both business leaders and his democratic socialist supporters, Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday appointed two people whose perspectives might seem at odds to head the Economic Development Corporation in New York City.

Anthony E. Shorris, a veteran of city government and a partner at the global consulting firm McKinsey \& Company, will serve as president. Lina Khan, the former chair of the Federal Trade Commission and an advocate for strong government regulation, will serve as the board chairwoman.

The announcement by Mr. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, comes as his administration has sought to shift the focus of the corporation, known as the E.D.C. It is a municipally run nonprofit designed to drive economic growth by creating jobs and encouraging economic development.

Mr. Mamdani, whose campaign promises to improve life for working-class New Yorkers will most likely require a robust economy, has said he wants the organization to also focus on economic justice. The business community has expressed concerns about that shift and questioned whether the mayor was being inattentive to the city’s economy.

Those concerns heightened after The New York Times disclosed a memo, circulated by Julie Su, the deputy mayor for economic justice, that demanded that every E.D.C. program be re-evaluated to ensure the organization was not focused solely on economic growth, but also on justice.