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Brad Wolk Appointed to Board of GCRE

Joseph Farkas, President and Founding Trustee of the Garden City Real Estate Professionals Foundation (GCRE) has announced the appointment of Brad Wolk to the Executive Committee of the 501 (C)3 charitable organization which was established in 2017 and is a leading philanthropic organization dedicated to raising funds for women and children health and wellness causes important to the residents of the Village of Garden City. 

GCRE’s annual fund raiser, Cocktails for a Cause, has become a feature of the Garden City Fall social calendar and acts as a catalyst for creating awareness for the great charities that GCRE honors at the Gala each year and on an on-going basis through the fund-raising efforts of its members. 

Farkas stated “Brad is one of GCRE’s inaugural Foundation Members and has played an important role in supporting the fund-raising efforts of GCRE’s annual Gala, Cocktails for a Cause.”  Farkas noted “this is Brad’s first appointment to a leadership role in GCRE and I am certain that his professional background and expertise, along with his commitment to the Village of Garden City and long tenure as a GCRE Member will make him the right choice as our newest Executive Committee Member”.  Brad will assist current Executive Committee Leader, Tiffany Rufrano in helping bring new initiatives, directives and recommendations for the Board of Trustee’s consideration as well as continue Borad compliance and governance oversight.

Mr. Wolk will work with Board Trustees including Frank Liantonio, Trustee, Vice President, and Co-Chair of the Charitable Events Committee, Gary Rufrano, Trustee and Treasurer, Salvatore Ciaravino, Trustee, Secretary and Chairperson of the Membership Committee on the Board and newly appointed Trustee and Co-Chairperson of the Charitable Events Committee, Lauren Scarantino.   Tiffany Rufrano will continue to lead the Executive Committee on a going forward basis.

 Mr. Wolk is Vice Chairperson of the global real estate services and advisory firm Savills’ North America and Co-Leader of the Integrated Consulting Strategies Group (ICS). 

 As a co-leader of ICS, Mr. Wolk actively guides the strategic planning, financial analysis and contract negotiations for some of the firm’s largest clients.  ICS is the longest-tenured consultancy in Savills North America – providing sophisticated financial structuring, due diligence and overall strategy for occupiers in diverse fields – spanning public/private corporations, partnerships, non-profits and government agencies.  

ICS delivers expertise in:

  • Financial structuring/planning (i.e. lease vs purchase vs synthetic structures, asset underwriting, pre- and post tax impacts, EBITDA and FASB optimization/reporting, etc.);
  • Real estate tax strategies (i.e. avoidance, protection concepts, etc.);
  • Contract/clause negotiation and interpretation;
  • Portfolio due diligence
  • Integration of multiple disciplines (i.e. labor/location, municipal incentives, zoning, workplace, project management)

Since joining Savills in 2005, Mr. Wolk has held every title from Associate and remains one of the youngest Vice Chairmen globally.  In 2022, Brad founded and now leads Savills’ North American Strategy & Finance Group – a first-ever unified consultancy comprising 50+ financial professionals regularly collaborating on best practices and advanced analytics.  Brad and his team have won REBNY’s Most Ingenious Deal of the Year multiple times as well as numerous industry awards for transactional excellence.  In addition, Brad is admitted to practice law in the State of New York and is an active member of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY).

 As GCRE’s newest Executive Committee Member, Brad will work closely with Tiffany Rufrano, Executive Committee Lead Member to help bring new initiatives, directives and recommendations for the Board of Trustees’ consideration as well as continue Board compliance and governance.  

For more information about GCRE, how to become a Member, donate to the Foundation or seek a donation for an important Garden City Charity, please go to www.gcrepf.org or contact Joe Farkas at 516-455-1562 or jfarkas@metropolitanra.com

Brad Wolk appointed to board of GCRE – Garden City News (gcnews.com)