Meet the Team

 
 

The Cali team is considered a leader in New Jersey real estate. For over a half century, they have anticipated trends and capitalized on opportunities to provide first-class residences, Class A office properties, and other creative development projects throughout the state.

 
 

John R. Cali

John R. Cali began his real estate career in 1977 and was the building partner for three housing developments totaling over 160 single-family homes. As the opportunities in the real estate market shifted to the commercial sector, John took on development of office buildings for Cali Associates. Between 1980 and 1990 he had direct responsibility for all aspects of project management for three buildings totaling 550,000 SF including, governmental approvals, financing, general contracting, fine tuning mechanical systems, tenant fit up, leasing coordination, property management, and operations. He guided the construction of an additional 450,000 SF as director of development.

In 1987, John took on responsibility for restructuring the Cali Associates office systems and management of office personnel. As the company grew, he developed and organized the leasing and property management departments to cope with the increasing size of the portfolio. John also was a member of the Executive and Long Range Planning Committees for Cali Associates from 1981 to 1994.

Cali Associates became the Real Estate Investment Trust, Cali Realty Corporation, after its successful IPO in August 1994. John served as Chief Administrative Officer and Head of Acquisitions for the public company until 1997. During that time, under John’s direction, the company portfolio increased in size from 2.2 million to 10 million SF through acquisitions. In 1997, Cali Realty Corp. merged with the Mack Companies and became Mack-Cali Realty Corp. with a portfolio of over 20 million square feet of commercial office space. After the merger, John took on duties as Executive Vice President-Head of Development until June 2000. At that time he decided to leave  Mack-Cali in order to pursue private development opportunities. John continued to serve on the Board of Directors for Mack-Cali Realty until 2012, and on the Advisory Board until 2017.

After leaving, John founded Cali Futures with Angelo, John J., and Brant. They began by focusing on a variety of joint ventures in the residential arena. Following the passing of Angelo and John J., John R. was joined by his son Jason and they embarked on the next round of development opportunities

 
 

Jason L. Cali

Jason joined Cali Futures in 2013 after developing his management and communication skills in a variety of job experiences. After receiving his Bachelor’s Degree from The University of Pennsylvania in 2009, he was selected by Teach for America in Washington, DC. He spent two years there teaching 6th grade Math and coaching soccer while earning his Master’s Degree in Education at night.

After teaching, Jason split time between Cali Futures and a bio-tech startup before going to work for the event company, Tough Mudder. At Tough Mudder, Jason excelled in event organization, marketing, and contract negotiations, and was recognized by the CEO as the employee who best embodied the company’s team-first culture. 

Jason rejoined Cali Futures in May 2013 to help guide the Park Bayonne project through approvals and permits before moving full time into construction coordination and daily project management with LuCal Partners, general contractors for the project. After Park Bayonne’s Grand Opening in February 2016, Jason switched his focus onto marketing and operations to assist the management company during the building’s lease-up. 

Jason was Project Manager again with the LuCal GC team to build Bay One at 957 Broadway in Bayonne. The 91-unit, 185,000 SF mixed-use building opened in October 2020, and brought Jason and the LuCal team’s ground-up development total to over 270,000 SF of residential and mixed use space in Bayonne.

Administrative Team

 

Penni Poyner

Penni joined the company shortly after Cali Futures was founded and has been a loyal part of the team ever since. She is responsible for keeping the entire office running from an administrative standpoint. Penni also manages the book-keeping for several of the longest-running Cali Futures investments.

 

Jessica Ortiz

Jess has been a part of the Cali Futures team for over 10 years. She is responsible for managing the book-keeping for numerous entities and investments. These include several family investment trusts and most of the company's projects in Hudson County.

2nd Generation

 

Brant B. Cali

Brant B. Cali served in several positions during his 20 years with Mack-Cali Realty Corporation, a publicly traded REIT, and its predecessor companies, Cali Realty Corporation and Cali Associates.

Brant served as Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and Director and Assistant Secretary from 1994 to 2000. In December 1997 the Company merged with the Mack Company, which has since been renamed the Mack-Cali Realty Corporation.

Brant holds a Ph.D. in plant pathology from North Carolina State University, and has been active on committees analyzing New Jersey environment issues. In addition he has served in positions on the boards of many professional organizations, including Director of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties and the International Association of Corporate Real Estate Executives, as well as Chairman of the Owners/Developers Council. Brant was appointed to the Governor's Storm Water Council in the early nineties and is currently an active Member of the Regional Plan Association, and Director of the New Jersey Center for Science, Technology and Mathematics Education at Kean University, as well as Director of the Union County Alliance and Hudson County Chamber of Commerce.

In 2011 Brant moved to Hawaii and left the day to day operations at Cali Futures. While he is focusing on other pursuits, he is available as a resource to John and Jason based on his 30+ years of experience with Cali properties.

 

Philip Cali, Jr. (1938-2020)

In 1961 Philip joined his father in the building business in northern New Jersey. He was a member of the National Association of Home Builders; the Builders Association of Northern New Jersey and a member of its Board of Directors 1974-1976. He has a BA degree from Hobart College and attended post graduate courses at Seton Hall University in Real Estate.

From 1961 to 1983 Philip built hundreds of homes and apartments, a multi-story 129,000 SF office building, and an industrial subdivision of over 300,000 SF. He also owned and operated one of the first racquetball courts on the east coast.

In 1984, several years after his father's death, he joined the Cali Associates organization which was composed of his uncles Angelo R. Cali and John J. Cali and cousins John R. Cali and Brant B. Cali. From 1984 to 1994 he was involved in building and planning several million square feet of office and mixed use developments (including Harsimus Cove in Jersey City, NJ; and American Cyanimid, Bridgewater, NJ). He was well versed in all aspects of building and development in the construction business.

When Cali Associates went public as Cali Realty Corp., a REIT (which is now Mack-Cali Realty Corp.) he was Senior Director of Acquisitions and Development. As Senior Director, he was part of the team that acquired over $2 Billion of assets and built over 3 million square feet of office buildings and a hotel from California to New Jersey. In 2003 Philip joined his uncles and cousins in Cali Futures, LLC.

 
 

Founders

  • Angelo R. Cali

    (1915-2006)

    Angelo R. Cali co-founded Cali Associates in 1949 with his brother, John J. Cali and their friend, Edward Leshowitz. The brothers were born in Colorado, but moved to New Jersey, where Angelo graduated from Montclair State Teachers College.

    Angelo served on the Board of Cali Realty Corporation when in 1994 the company made its initial public offering as a REIT.

    In addition, he was a principal of Cali Associates and a member of its Executive and Long Range Planning Committees.

    Angelo was an avid golfer, enjoyed navigating the challenges of real estate development, and loved spending time with his family. He devoted himself to doing all three until his passing in 2006.

  • Edward Leshowitz

    (1915-2008)

    Edward Leshowitz co-founded Cali Associates in 1949 with his friends, John J. Cali and Angelo R. Cali. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of Cali Realty. In addition, Edward was a principal of Cali Associates and a member of its Executive and Long Range Planning Committees.

    Edward was responsible for the financial and leasing strategies of Cali Associates' portfolio and was the senior executive responsible for lease approval.

    Edward graduated from Montclair State Teachers College.

  • John J. Cali

    (1918-2014)

    John J. Cali co-founded Cali Associates in 1949 with his brother, Angelo R. Cali and their friend, Edward Leshowitz. John and Angelo were born in Colorado, but moved to New Jersey where they would start their business.

    John J. served as Chairman of the Board of Cali Realty Corporation when in 1994 the company made its initial public offering as a REIT. He continued as Chairman of the Board through the dramatic growth of the Cali REIT and its merger in 1997 with the Mack Company.

    He remained as Chairman of the Mack-Cali realty Corporation until spring of 2003 when he retired as Chairman Emeritus and devoted his energies to Cali Futures.

    John J. loved music, played in several bands himself, and eventually turned that passion into philanthropy when he founded the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University.