Jerry Zaro, Chair of Banking and Real Estate Services, focuses his practice on banking and finance, real estate, corporate and government relations. He is the former Chief of the New Jersey Office of
Economic Growth in the cabinets of Governor Jon S. Corzine(D) and Chris
Christie(R). Prior
to his years of public service, Mr. Zaro was the President and Managing Partner
of Ansell Zaro Grimm and Aaron and served as the Chair of the Commercial Real
Estate and Finance & Banking departments.
He began his law career as a judicial secretary to the Honorable Thomas
F. Shebell, Jr. in the Superior
Court
of Monmouth
County.
Six different governors—three
Republicans and three Democrats—appointed him to a variety of leadership posts
in their Administrations. Mr. Zaro
served as Commissioner of the New Jersey Highway Authority, Chairman of the New
Jersey Highway Authority, Commissioner of the NJ Sports and Exposition
Authority and, most recently, as the Chief of the Office of Economic Growth for
the State of New Jersey, a cabinet level position in the administrations of
Governor Jon Corzine (D) and Governor Chris Christie (R). During his tenure as New
Jersey’s economic “Czar,” Mr. Zaro made multiple significant
strides in promoting and improving the business environment in the State
utilizing incentives offered by New Jersey. In this capacity, he had a hand in bringing thousands
of jobs to New Jersey
and helping retain jobs in danger of being relocated out of state.
Mr. Zaro has also worked to make New Jersey a friendlier environment for all businesses. He helped to create and then lead the Real
Estate Advisory Board, comprised of the leaders in the industry, to identify
and eliminate red tape, propose pro-business legislation and attract more
businesses to locate in New Jersey.
He worked to develop the Licensed Site
Remediation Professionals Act, which outsources some Department of Environmental
Protection applications to private licensed professionals and fast-tracks the
application process. He launched the
Patent Bank, which provides a central State directory for inventors and
innovators to list their patents and assists in bringing new developments to
market.
Mr. Zaro is also engaged in numerous
business and corporate entities. He was
one of the initial stockholders and Chairman of the Board of Ocean Independent
Bank, a Member of the Board of Directors
of First DeWitt Bank and Rumson-Fair Haven Bank, as well as other stock
exchange listed companies, including as a Director of Commerce of Bank Shore
N.A., now part of TD Bank. He is also a principal in numerous real estate
companies which buy, develop, own, manage and operate various properties, consisting of several million square feet,
located in seven states, including office, industrial, warehouse, residential
and retail properties.
In addition to his involvement with a
variety of businesses and corporate boards, Mr. Zaro has been engaged with
numerous charitable and governmental organizations and civic affairs.