Prior to entering Governor Corzine's Cabinet as state treasurer, he was a top executive for the Wall Street firm of Goldman Sachs.
After working in Corzine's cabinet, he was global chief operating officer of MF Global joining the firm on September 13, 2010[1] He served for 15 years in executive positions with Goldman Sachs, where he worked with Governor Corzine, the investment bank's former CEO.
[3] Abelow was considered an unusual choice for the post since he had no background in New Jersey politics and was primarily a business executive by training.
Most of Abelow's predecessors as chief of staff had been long standing New Jersey political operatives, lobbyists and former legislators.
On December 1, 2008, Abelow was succeeded as chief of staff by Lisa P. Jackson, who had served as the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.