GERARD H. SWEENEY
Serving as president since 1988 and adding the titles of CEO and
trustee in 1994, Gerard H. Sweeney has been at the helm of
Brandywine Realty Trust through several cycles, and has weath-
ered them well. Despite continued economic challenges, the firm
announced in January that it signed more than one million
square feet of new and renewal leases in
the fourth quarter of 2011 alone. The
deals included a 20,457-square-foot
health-care expansion at Main Street in
Voorhees and a new 15,033-square-foot
lease by VERUS Claims Services at the
Princeton Pike Corporate Center in
Lawrenceville. Sweeney is a member
of the boards of NAREIT, ULI, NAIOP
and the Real Estate Roundtable. He
serves as chairman of the Schuylkill
River Development Corp. and Phila-
delphia’s radio station, WHYY-FM,
and is co-chair of the World Class
Greater Philadelphia Initiative.
JOSEPH S. TAYLOR
Joseph S. Taylor joined Matrix Development at its inception
in 1981 at age 24. As project manager, he was responsible for
directing the development of the company’s then-sole invest-
ment in New Jersey, CenterPoint at 8A, an 1,800-acre assem-
blage of commercial, residential and industrial properties.
Since becoming president and CEO of the firm in 1987,
Taylor has expanded Matrix’s reach throughout New Jersey
and into New York and Pennsylvania
while broadening its business base to
include a golf-management subsidiary,
an asset-recovery division and a full-ser-
vice residential and construction divi-
sion. Through his leadership, the com-
pany has grown into one of the most
prominent real estate investment com-
panies in the Northeast. Over the past
25 years, Matrix has developed more
than 20 million square feet of commer-
cial, industrial, mixed use, residential
and retail properties.
FINN WENTWORTH
A founder and managing principal of
Normandy Real Estate Partners, Finn
Wentworth has put a quote from his
marketing professor at Lehigh
University to good use in his ventures
in commercial real estate: “High risk,
high return. No risk, no return.” That
mantra came in handy during his
work on Gov. Chris Christie’s Advisory
Commission on Gaming, Sports and
Entertainment, where he was one of
seven members tasked with looking
into these businesses and offering
solutions and policy recommendations. One of the partners that helped
46 REAL ESTATE FORUM FEBRUARY/MARCH 2012
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