The annual Leadership Excellence Awards Dinner at Monmouth University’s Kislak Real Estate Institute typically draws hundreds of New Jersey commercial real estate executives and service professionals. — Courtesy: Kislak Real Estate Institute
By Joshua Burd
Hundreds of commercial real estate leaders will descend on Monmouth University next week as the school’s Kislak Real Estate Institute honors Onyx Equities and Gretchen Wilcox, the pioneering mortgage banker and founder of G.S. Wilcox & Co.
Slated for May 29, the awards will come as part of the popular dinner that draws many of New Jersey’s most influential developers and service professionals in support of scholarships for the longtime real estate degree program. Onyx, led by cofounders John Saraceno Jr. and Jonathan Schultz, and Wilcox will join a long list of top-tier executives to be honored at the event.
“We are thrilled to be hosting the 29th Annual Leadership Excellence Awards Dinner on May 29 at the historic Great Hall on the campus of Monmouth University — a truly beautiful and fitting setting for a night of celebration and connection,” said Cynthia Daly, interim director of the Kislak Real Estate Institute. “This year, we are especially proud to recognize Onyx Equities LLC with the Leadership Excellence Award. As a premier real estate investment, management, development and property services firm, Onyx has played a transformative role in repositioning commercial assets and revitalizing key markets across the region.”
Onyx, which is based in Woodbridge, is behind many of New Jersey’s most complex and high-profile development projects and investments that have repositioned major commercial properties. They include the 2 million-square-foot Northeast Science & Technology Center at the former Merck & Co. campus in Kenilworth, as well as the modernization of the four-building, 2.3 million-square-foot Gateway office complex in Newark.
Wilcox, for her part, launched G.S. Wilcox & Co. in 1994. She and her Morristown-based team serve a loyal client base that includes many of the state’s most successful property owners and major life insurance companies.
“We are equally excited to honor Gretchen Wilcox, founder and president of G.S. Wilcox & Co., with the Service to the Industry Award,” Daly said. “A true trailblazer, she has built a robust track record over more than three decades, leading the way in commercial real estate finance with integrity, expertise and innovation. Her firm is the first — and remains the only — female-founded commercial real estate mortgage banking firm in the country, a testament to her pioneering vision and lasting impact on the industry.”
Monmouth’s real estate degree program has grown exponentially from six students in its inaugural class in 2006. It has also produced many well-known industry professionals in New Jersey, while it enjoys broad support from key influencers in the space.
The Leadership Excellence Awards Dinner is among the top industry events of the spring in New Jersey. This year’s gathering begins with a cocktail reception at 5 p.m., followed by the dinner and program at 7 p.m.
“This event, which attendees look forward to year after year, brings together a wide array of professionals for an inspiring evening of networking and recognition of excellence across all segments of the real estate industry,” Daly said.
