Robert K. Steel is chairman of the Aspen Institute. In 2010, he was appointed as New York City’s deputy mayor for economic development. He is responsible for the Bloomberg Administration’s five-borough economic development strategy and job-creation efforts, as well as its efforts to expand job training, strengthen small business assistance, promote new industries, diversify the economy, and achieve the goals of the New Housing Marketplace Plan, which is designed to build or preserve enough affordable housing for 500,000 New Yorkers by 2014. Prior to his appointment as deputy mayor, Steel was the president and CEO of Wachovia. From 2006 to 2008, Steel was the under secretary for domestic finance at the US Department of the Treasury. Before entering government service, Steel spent nearly 30 years at Goldman Sachs, ultimately rising to become co-head of the US Equities Division and vice chairman of the firm.