By Joshua Burd
A third member of the Brunelli family has joined the ownership ranks at R.J. Brunelli & Co., the Old Bridge-based retail real estate brokerage firm.
The business announced Thursday that it has promoted Mario Brunelli to principal and vice president of investment sales and development site acquisitions. He most recently served as an investment sales specialist and sales associate, having completed more than $100 million in transactions in New Jersey and Florida during the last five years.
Brunelli, 32, is the son of founder Richard Brunelli and began working at the firm at age 18, spending summers performing market analysis research and studying occupancies at properties on retail corridors throughout New Jersey, according to a news release. He began working full-time at R.J. Brunelli after graduating from Florida International University in 2012 with a bachelor’s in business administration.
With the promotion, Brunelli joins his father, sister Danielle and Ron DeLuca as principals of the 45-year-old firm. Danielle Brunelli and DeLuca, who serve as president and CEO, respectively, became principals in 2010 and assumed their current titles in 2015 when Richard Brunelli rose to chairman.
“It gives me great pleasure to know that with Danielle and now Mario in ownership positions, the next-generation is firmly in place to continue and expand the relationships RJBCO has enjoyed in the retailing, restaurant, personal services, management/development and real estate investment communities,” Richard Brunelli said. “Mario has worked very hard to earn this promotion. He genuinely loves what he does, has a thirst for knowledge and takes great pleasure in sharing that knowledge to advance clients towards achieving their investment goals. In executing acquisitions, he brings the know-how to analyze the financials and implement strategies to maximize cash flow for his clients.”
As an investment sales specialist, Mario Brunelli’s deals have included 1031 exchanges involving everything from neighborhood shopping centers to single-tenant net-leased properties occupied by Auto Zone, Dollar General, 7-Eleven and other tenants, the news release said. In his capacity as a tenant representative, he handled the Florida expansion of a medical products company, arranging 14 leases for retail sites as well as the purchase of a warehouse.
“I have worked closely with Mario since his earliest days as a summer employee during his college years,” DeLuca said. “Since joining the company full-time, I have seen Mario grow into a successful professional, quickly absorbing guidance from our leadership team, and dedicating himself to personal achievement.
“In 2019, in addition to his continued focus on fulfilling our clients’ needs in the investment sales sector, Mario distinguished himself in the brokerage side of our business, fulfilling a difficult client assignment to close deals on up to 14 new retail locations across Florida in less than ten months. I look forward with confidence to Mario’s contribution toward the growth of our business, and his addition to our executive team.”
