Gina Farese graduated high school at the age of 16 and received her Bachelor of Science in finance at the age of 19. She began her career on Wall Street in investment banking, where she quickly realized it was not for her. Instead, she decided to team up with her father to help him build his small, local construction company. Farese’s father instilled in her the old school Italian mindset by having her learn the business from the bottom up and earn her keep. While it was not easy, especially as a woman in a man’s world, Farese continued to grow and develop, and is now running the entire company. Blood, sweat and tears went into the beginning of what Farese didn’t realize would be her new career. She got up every day with the right mindset and built the business into a successful, multi-di-vision operation.
Farese quickly developed an understanding of the overall construction operation and mastered the exterior remodeling side of the field, but she still wasn’t satisfied. In 2011, she received her public adjusters license to assist homeowners with insurance claims as there was a lot of synergy between the homeowner’s insurance world and construction. Today, many attorneys, other public adjusters and insurance brokers rely on her expertise in the roofing and insurance world to assist them in their own day-to-day claims.
Around 2012, Farese noticed a gap in the roofing and solar industry. Solar was starting to be installed on roofs, but the roofs were not prepared for the longevity of solar. She immersed herself into the solar industry, aligning her company with solar companies to assist with their roofing needs.
In July of 2020, Farese opened a solar service division of Marcor to support national companies that mistakenly installed solar on poor roofs and now have to address the issues they accidentally caused to the roof years later. In 2022, she launched Roofs for Solar, a national company supported by Owens Corning to set up and manage roofing divisions for regional solar companies.
Finally, she set up MGM as a NYS WBE certified estimating and supply division to support local Long Island builders requiring a NYS WBE certification. Farese is a two-time Top 50 Women in Business Recipient and a 2022 Herald Family Business Award recipient. She regularly donates her time to the betterment of the community, and is also co-chair of Long Island Builders Institute’s Women’s Committee.