Marjorie Perry

Marjorie Perry
Owner, President & CEO
MZM Construction & Management Co. Inc.
Newark, N.J.

 
It takes a fighting spirit to run a construction and management company successfully, especially when it’s a woman at the helm. Marjorie Perry, president and CEO of MZM Construction & Management Co., has shown tenacity and resilience at the helm of MZM, surviving the setbacks of entrepreneurship for more than 20 years. When she lost a million dollars in 1998 in a business deal, she also lost the fear of failure. “My motivation to continue was the fact that I was too stubborn to fail. Succeeding was all I knew,” says the former teacher and corporate sales-and-marketing professional. MZM has sustained a multi-million-dollar bottom line for the past 19 years.

Founded in 1992, MZM has units in construction and construction management, waste management and transportation, interior design and renovation, motivational speaking and business training. The company had a key role in the development of the Meadowlands Giants and Jets Sports Arena, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, NY/NJ Port Authority Newark International Airport and Marriott Hotels Arena. “Entrepreneurship is a choice that people have to make for themselves. Everybody should learn to think like an entrepreneur, whether you start a business or not. You can control your own destiny and become very rich if you have the right stuff to get your product to market and it services a society in some shape or fashion.” Perry says.

Perry was recognized by NJBIZ as one of New Jersey’s Best 50 Women in Business and one of the Top 25 Entrepreneurs in the state, and was invited by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to join the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. She has a bachelor’s degree from Kean College, an M.B.A. in finance and construction management certification from New Jersey Institute of Technology, and leadership training and MBE Scholars certification from Dartmouth College.