37. Michael Posillico

Ask folks in real estate what their principle challenge is to getting deals done these days and they’ll likely tell you that it’s not the property itself, but the ground beneath it. Enter Michael Posillico. Posillico hails from Long Island real estate royalty, but he carved out a different path for himself several years ago that has paid great dividends over the years. A civil engineer by trade, Posillico saw early on in his career that environmental issues plagued job sites throughout the region. He has since become one of the foremost experts on brownfield redevelopment and site remediation—a valuable skillset in a region that is already highly developed and in desperate need of cleanup. Posillico pours the same attention into the charities he supports, but it’s his career expertise that provides the greatest benefit to us all.