The Silberman Annual Hall of Fame Gala makes its way back to Florham’s iconic Vanderbilt Mansion
Fairleigh Dickinson University Silberman College of Business
FDU Silberman College of Business is thrilled to honor four more esteemed alumni at this year’s annual Hall of Fame Gala on Thursday, October 10. Every year, Silberman alumni are recognized for their accomplishments all while raising funds to support current and future Silberman students.
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The 2024 Honorees
This year’s honorees include Tom Evans BS’77, Shweta Ghuge MA’08, and Arkady Smolyansky BS’06.
Tom Evans BS’77
PwC Partner/Chief Learning Officer (retired), Board Advisor and Senior Executive
Tom Evans, a pioneering leader in organizational learning and talent development, is best known for his ground-breaking work at PwC. Throughout his 38-year career with the firm, Tom served as an invaluable strategic partner including growing PwC’s top leadership. As a member of the firm’s Extended Leadership Team, Tom is keenly aware of the need to achieve goals and drive strategy execution. Under his leadership, Tom and his team introduced innovative learning methods to build organizational capacity against business priorities. His inclusive and immersive approach to strategy and learning embodies Tom’s “whole leadership” philosophy which emboldens people to acquire the right blend of technical capabilities, business acumen, and relationship skills to drive meaningful results at both the individual and organizational level.
In his tenure with PwC, Tom positioned talent development as an integral driver in executing PwC’s business and human capital strategies. His relentless attention to business strategy, technology, and talent bringing meaningful business impact has generated extraordinary results at PwC and received industry acclaim. His team received the №1 spot in Training Magazine’s Top 125 from 2008 to 2010 before being inducted into the Top 10 Hall of Fame in 2011. In addition to being a repeat Brandon Hall recipient for excellence in learning, the team recently received one of The Hall of Fame’s most prestigious awards for PwC’s Discover leadership experience program.
Tom began his career with PwC in 1977 as a Certified Public Accountant in the firm’s Assurance practice serving both public and private sector clients. Tom was admitted to the firm’s partnership in 1998. Throughout his tenure, Tom held multiple senior roles. In 1997, Tom became the Chief Financial Officer for the firm’s Middle Market sector. In 1998, Tom became the L&D Global Leader for PwC’s Advisory Services Practice and later became the firm’s Assurance Practice Development Leader in 2000. In 2003 Tom became PwC’s first Chief Learning Officer (CLO) leading an organization with over 500 professionals and an annual average budget of over $250.0 million. In 2011, he was named Talent Development Leader for PwC West Cluster firms in Canada, Brazil, and Mexico as well as other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. In October 2014, Tom received the Chief Learning Officer’s prestigious CLO of the Year award, which recognizes learning leaders who have made substantive and measurable changes in business, vision, strategic alignment, or leadership.
Since 2003, Tom has continuously served as the Township of Nutley’s Commissioner and Director for Revenue and Finance. In this capacity and as a member of the Board of Commissioners, Tom has led both operational and capital planning excellence, and public sector financial compliance and has built productive relationships with State, County, and Local officials across multiple administrations.
In June 2015, Tom retired from PwC and began the next chapter in his career. His Clients, colleagues, and community — greatly appreciate his pioneering spirit for improvement, commitment to excellence, and desire to help others. Tom is a current member of the Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation Board and an Advisory Committee member for the Hackensack Meridian Health — John Theurer Cancer Center. He is a former advisory board member of the Center for Leadership and Ethics (COLE) — part of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
In 2017, Tom was deeply honored to be inducted into the Township of Nutley Hall of Fame and remains dedicated to the welfare of Nutley, the town that he and his family will always cherish. His wife, the late Yolanda Perrotta Evans, was an attorney and proudly served as counsel to Nutley’s Zoning Board of Adjustment. In 2000, Tom honored her life by establishing a trust fund at our Library dedicated to the children’s library which today has become its largest endowed fund.
When he is not acting in his professional roles, Tom spends time with his growing family, especially his two grandchildren. Tom’s three children are all graduates of the Nutley School system. Tom’s daughter, Mary Kate, is an accomplished attorney serving most recently as a senior executive at the NJ Economic Development Authority. Her husband, Jared, is currently an Executive Vice President for the National Hockey League. His son, Tommy, is a Partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in their advisory service practice. He is married to Christina, an English teacher. His son, Andrew, recently completed his associate degree in International Relations and will complete his baccalaureate in business management in December 2024. His wife, Claire, is a patient navigator assisting oncology patients undergoing specialized cell therapy treatment at Adaptimmune, Inc.
Shweta Ghuge MA’08
Shweta Ghuge has over 15 years of work experience in marketing and communications. Shweta began their career in 2005 at Fidelity Investments as a Marketing Corporate Communications. In 2008, they joined Polaris Consulting & Services Ltd as a Marketing and Communications. In 2012, they moved to MD On-Line as a National Marketing Manager. In 2013, they joined Investis Inc. as a Global Marketing Manager. Most recently, in 2014, they founded Stradit.
Shweta Ghuge completed their Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies from the University of Lucknow. Shweta then went on to pursue a Bachelor of Engineering — BE from the Manipal Institute of Technology. Following this, they completed their Master of Arts — MA in English Language and Literature/Letters from the University of Pune. Lastly, they obtained a Master of Arts (M.A.) Communications and Advertising from Fairleigh Dickinson University between 2007 and 2008.
Arkady Smolyansky BS’06
Arkady Smolyansky is a Senior Vice President in the New York City office of CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate firm. As a tenant representative broker, Arkady advises a variety of local, national, and international firms on evaluating and implementing strategic real estate plans. Arkady bases his practice on cultivating exclusive, long-term relationships with clients, an approach that has enabled him to structure a wide range of complex leasing transactions totaling nearly 5,000,000 square feet on behalf of tenants and landlords.
With extensive knowledge of the New York City real estate market, Arkady — an eight-time recipient of CBRE’s market leadership award — devises creative deals for his clients in the leasing, acquisition and disposition of commercial properties/office space, utilizing sophisticated relocation methods and occupancy cost reduction strategies. In addition to representing a strong roster of tenants, Arkady represents landlords on assets throughout Manhattan. He currently advises the LeFrak Organization as the leasing agent for 40 West 57th Street, a prestigious 850,000-sq.-ft. office property in the Plaza District, and he represents Boston Properties in leasing 399 Park Avenue, a prominent full-block 1.7 million sq.ft. building, as well as 599 Lexington Avenue, a one million sq.ft. office tower. He is also part of the teams that are repositioning the Olayan Group/RXR/Chelsfield’s 550 Madison Avenue, EQ Office’s(Blackstone’s) 1740 Broadway and The Georgetown Company’s redevelopment at 787 Eleventh Avenue. Arkady‘s ability to understand the ramifications of a transaction from both the landlord and tenant side enables him to devise creative and effective real estate solutions for his clients.
Prior to joining CBRE’s Brokerage Services Group in 2008, Arkady participated in the firm’s highly competitive Wheel Program, an 18-month rotational program designed to give young brokerage professionals a well-rounded foundation in the commercial real estate industry. Arkady’s commercial real estate career began in 2005, as an intern for CBRE’s Investment Properties Group.
Arkady is a proud graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University, where he was a four-year member of the Men’s Varsity Tennis team and founded the Finance Club, serving as President for several years. Arkady most recently founded and launched an annual scholarship fund at the University where he was also recognized as the top 50 Under 50 alumni leaders in business in 2015. He emigrated from the former Soviet Union to the U.S. in 1989, previously lived in Italy and Austria, and frequently travels internationally.
Lifetime Achievement Award
Neil Koenig BS’72 will be receiving this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Neil is the President of EisnerAmper RESIG, with more than 40 years of experience in finance. Prior to joining the firm, Neil was a founding Co-Partner of the accounting firm Imowitz Koenig & Co., LLP (IK), and their real estate fund advisory firm Real Estate Systems Implementation Group LLC (RESIG).
Neil has extensive expertise in the areas of finance and has acted in various capacities for numerous finance ventures, in both internal and external positions, and currently oversees an accounting and consulting practice for clients with a portfolio value in excess of $10 billion.
An active member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, Neil is a former Chairman of the Real Estate Committee. Neil specializes in real estate, business consulting, and financial services. He is a certified public accountant, graduated from FDU with his bachelor’s degree in accounting, and from Fordham with his MBA in finance.
Join us at this year’s Hall of Fame Gala
Join us on Thursday, October 10th at this year’s Gala! Cocktail hour will begin in the Italian Gardens and on the Stern Portico at 6 PM, followed by dinner in Lenfell Hall. All are welcome to enjoy the night and help support our deserving business students!
Not able to join us, but still want to contribute? We welcome donations and offer various sponsorships — all going to fund student scholarships, professional development, and learning opportunities for Silberman students. GIVE NOW.
Please contact Mary Sakin, Assistant Dean of Corporate Partnerships and Student Success, with any questions.
