Silberman Hosts Their Annual Hall of Fame Gala on October 13
FDU Silberman College of Business
On October 13, 2023, Fairleigh Dickinson’s Silberman College of Business will be hosting its annual Hall of Fame Gala. The gala is to honor outstanding Silberman alumni achievements and to raise money from generous donors. All the money collected is put towards student scholarships and aiding Silberman students.
2023 Gala Honorees
This year’s honorees include Neil Goldmacher (B.S. ‘85), Rita Karachun (B.S. ‘85), and Al Lustgarten (MBA ‘82). Neil Goldmacher currently serves as Chairman of National Tenant Representation for Newmark and is one of the most sought-after real estate advisors in the US. Rita Karachun is Senior Vice President of Finance- Global Controller at Merck and Co Inc. and is responsible for all accounting and reporting aspects for Merck. Al Lustgarten serves as Senior Vice President of Technology and Information Services at Hearst Television and oversees the company’s information technology function and advertising operations. Lester Owens is Senior Executive Vice President and former head of Operations of Wells Fargo & Company and is responsible for building a more unified, integrated approach to Wells Fargo’s business operations functions. All four of these alumni have had and continue to have exceptional careers, and their hard work and commitment will be recognized at the gala, where they will receive awards and be honored in a video they were interviewed for. To read more about our honorees, click here.
Lifetime Achievement Award
Lester Owens (MBA ’91) will be receiving the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award. Lester is Senior Executive Vice President and former head of Operations of Wells Fargo & Company, responsible for building a more unified, more integrated approach to Wells Fargo’s business operations functions. Lester manages a team of 60,000 employees globally across Corporate and Investment Banking, Commercial Banking, Wealth Management, Consumer Banking and shared Services. He serves on the Wells Fargo Operating Committee and is based in New York. Lester has more than 30 years of leadership, risk management, and operations experience in the financial services industry.
While the past few years have seen the gala at different locations, Silberman is excited to host the gala back at FDU’s Florham Campus in the Hennessy Hall Mansion. It is here that these honorees passed through, and it is a full circle moment for them to return and be honored for what they have accomplished since then. The gala will feature a cocktail hour with a jazz trio, dinner with background piano music played by current Silberman student Will Modica, a showing of their video, the presentation of their awards, a small auction to help raise scholarship money, and a cigar and whiskey bar to finish off the night.
The gala is a great opportunity to return to FDU and celebrate the people who show just how successful Silberman is at guiding their students throughout their time here. If you are interested in attending, check out the Hall of Fame website. Silberman looks forward to seeing you there!
