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Click below to find out who made the rest of the list:
NJBIZ Power 50: No. 50 to No. 31 (click here)
NJBIZ Power 50: No 30 to No. 21 (click here)
NJBIZ Power 50: No 20 to No. 11 (click here)
NJBIZ Power 50: No 10 to No. 6 (click here)
NJBIZ Power 50: No. 50 to No. 31 (click here)
NJBIZ Power 50: No 30 to No. 21 (click here)
NJBIZ Power 50: No 20 to No. 11 (click here)
NJBIZ Power 50: No 10 to No. 6 (click here)
![Mack-Cali<br><br />
CEO<br><br><br />
It’s hard for most industry leaders to recall a time when a chief executive officer changed a company the way Michael DeMarco has changed Mack-Cali. And as the leader of the largest landlord in the state, he also has an effect on the real estate industry itself. <br />
In his less than one year as the CEO of the REIT, DeMarco has continued to accelerate the pace of disposition of poor-performing suburban assets in the firm’s portfolio. And there has been continuous rent appreciation of Mack-Cali’s new focus on office and residential in Hoboken and Jersey City, known as the New Jersey Gold Coast.<br />
“As long as they can stay $0.60 to $1 from Manhattan, they’re going to keep their buildings leased,” one industry leader said. “As long as it [costs] less to live in Jersey City and Hoboken than it does to live in Manhattan, they are going to keep their buildings leased.”<br />
Roseland Properties, Mack-Cali’s residential and multifamily arm, continues to take center stage. And whether it is because of Mack-Cali’s board, the REIT’s performance on Wall Street or DeMarco himself, experts agree that diversifying the firm and focusing on urban and high-performing suburban markets for office and rental is the right move. <br />
“Their whole life is involved in getting their stock price up so when they sell out they get a good return for their investments,” an insider said. “[DeMarco] is what I would call the original bull in a china shop,” another insider said. “But he finds resolutions after he blows up the meetings. Mike has come in and he is just someone that can get things done.”](https://njbiz.com/files/2017/12/EP-171209941-3.jpg "#2. Michael DeMarco (#5)")
![The Hampshire Companies <br><br />
Chairman<br><br><br />
For the third time in seven years, Jon Hanson, chairman of The Hampshire Companies, has topped our NJBIZ Power 50 list. And for good reason.<br />
“You can’t go anywhere where [Hampshire] is not looking or participating,” an insider said. “They’re involved in practically everything.”<br />
And although The Hampshire Companies, the development firm Hanson founded, is being run by his son Jimmy, Jon’s influence is present and continues to reach far beyond the firm. <br />
Under Jon’s leadership, two of the largest developments in the state have shown significant signs of progress and are expected to alter the landscape of their respective regions. <br />
In Bergen County, Hanson’s involvement was crucial to resume construction at American Dream. As the chairman of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on New Jersey Gaming, Sports and Entertainment, he was tasked with what some called an impossible job: to get the then-Xanadu project back on track. And more than seven years after his appointment, two developers later and $2.6 billion in construction financing secured, Triple Five’s first project on the East Coast has created 600 construction jobs and is set to create up to 3,000 at the peak of construction. <br />
Upon completion, American Dream will create 23,000 permanent jobs for the Meadowlands, thanks to some steering by Hanson. <br />
“He has such a vast experience and has years of knowledge and practical experience and political acumen that he really is a treasure not only in the real estate industry but in public policy as well,” an insider said. “There just aren’t a lot of those people.”<br />
Hanson’s tenure as the chairman of the board of the Atlantic City Development Corporation has also proved fortuitous. His leadership, with some help from proven leaders like Chris Paladino of the New Brunswick Development Corp., advanced reinvestment towards the once left-for-dead city. And it was Hanson, Paladino and Finn Wentworth of Normandy Real Estate that made the Atlantic City Gateway Redevelopment project get to the groundbreaking stage this year, with Stockton University’s new campus and the relocation of South Jersey Gas on the schedule. <br />
“For an 80-year-old guy, he is sharp,” an industry leader said. “He’s a tough negotiator, but he does it in a classy way and he’s likeable. He’s been on a million corporate boards. It’s not a surprise that Christie would pick him for AC. That city needs someone to help it be the face of reinvestment there.”<br />
While the extent of his influence in the Murphy administration remains to be seen, the governor will not be able to deny that Hanson has been responsible for two major improvements in New Jersey: the creation of jobs and generation of investment in areas that badly needed it.](https://njbiz.com/files/2017/12/EP-171209941-4.jpg "#1. Jon Hanson (#9)")
