About Us
Who We Are

Sienna Homes is managed by a team of seasoned design-build and business professionals:

Margret Gallo, President & Chief Executive Officer  [ back to the list ]

Margret founded Sienna Homes in 1996, quickly establishing the company as a respected builder of high-quality, stylish and spacious homes in the Ottawa region. Born and raised in British Columbia, her west-coast influenced design esthetic is incorporated into every Sienna Home with open concept living spaces, high ceilings, large windows and exquisite detail.

Margret has a track record of success in business, having owned and operated a small chain of furniture stores for 14 years, and a fabric and interior design retail store for 10 years.

The daughter of a hobbyist custom home builder in B.C., Margret also has first-hand knowledge of residential construction. As an Ottawa-based real estate broker in the 1990s, she became known for rescuing troubled projects in Ottawa.

Margret has been a proud recipient of the Ontario new Home Warranty Program "Certificate of Excellence" for five consecutive years. She is proud that Sienna Homes hold their value and are promoted by agents in the resale market as a superior product. In early 2008, she made the decision to purchase Halliday Homes so that she could maintain her company's high standards while pursing larger housing developments.

Robert K. Webster, B.Sc., CA  [ back to the list ]

Bob has more than 30 years of experience in financial management and the technology sector. Most recently, he was Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary at Meriton Networks Inc., a leading designer of optical networking systems for communications carriers around the world.

Prior to joining Meriton, Bob fulfilled senior management roles for March Networks Corporation in sales, marketing and business unit management, with a particular focus on healthcare applications. He joined March Networks following its acquisition of Elcombe Systems Limited in 2000. At Elcombe, Bob was the Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors, driving the company's growth in healthcare communications and monitoring systems. Previously, he was Vice President Finance for several companies in the telecommunications and climate control sectors.

Bob achieved his Chartered Accountant designation with Clarkson Gordon (now Ernst & Young), a national firm of public accountants. He is a member of the Board of Directors and the Treasurer of the ALS Society of Ontario and has served on the Boards of the Glebe Centre, a nursing home and outreach centre in Ottawa, and the Canadian Society for Telehealth.

A-J Danis, Chief Operating Officer  [ back to the list ]

A-J is responsible for manufacturing operations, business operations, and marketing. A-J joined Sienna Homes in 2008 after Sienna's acquisition of Halliday Homes, where he effected change in all aspects of the company's business since joining Halliday in 2006. His restructuring of operations yielded a significant increase in gross margin and profitability, and he modernized the company's business processes, reporting and accountability. Under A-J's purview, Halliday became a leader in environmental building standards and best practices in construction.

Before joining Halliday, A-J enjoyed a number of successful years designing and selling the company's preengineered building system, including several high-profile projects. He co-founded a residential design and construction project management company that achieved over $15 Million in management and materials contracts in just three years. One of the highlights of this period was designing and managing the main residence of one of Canada's former prime ministers.

Prior to entering the construction industry, A-J held a variety of positions in the technology sector including Director of Business Development for Nokia (Internet Solutions Group). At Nokia, A-J was also a member of the Global Marketing Council. Preceding this, he served as Vice President and Member of the Board of Directors for Elcombe Systems Limited, a technology company that was ultimately acquired by March Networks. In the 1980s, A-J was involved in several start-up roles including Trillium Telephone Systems, where he served as Director of Product Management, and the first spin-off venture of Newbridge Networks Corporation (Newbridge Telecom) as Director of Business Development.

A-J has led successful business ventures and teams that have been the recipients of awards and certificates from organizations such as the CHMC, the CHBA, the Canada Award for Business Excellence, the American Society on Aging and the AARP. He is a patent holder, and has studied in a variety of fields, including electronics engineering technology, architectural technology and business management.

John Schelter, Executive Vice President, Sales  [ back to the list ]

John joined the Sienna team with the Halliday acquisition in 2008. He is responsible for all Sales Management related to major accounts and builder-dealers. After joining Halliday Homes in 2006, he rebuilt the company's channels of distribution, leading to a near-doubling of organic sales and numerous international sales and international builder-dealer relationships.

Prior to this, John was National Sales Manager for the Home Depot Corporation where he was instrumental in growing business-to-business volume. His first-year sales results were equivalent to 50% of the company's sales for the previous year. While at Home Depot, Mr. Schelter was also instrumental in creating new revenue streams from three vertical markets: healthcare, schooling and the energy sector.

Earlier in his career, John solely created and developed sales, channel and marketing strategy for Pultronics Corporation, a manufacturer of pultruded fiberglass decking products. His territory spanned all of eastern North America and South America. John grew the fledgling business from zero revenues to several million dollars per year. While with the National Manufacturing of Canada Corporation, John received national awards of recognition including an award as Salesperson of the Year. At Home Hardware Corporation, where John held numerous roles over 10 years, he instituted the turnaround of several stores and franchises.

He has more than 25 years of successful sales and sales management experience related to the construction and construction materials industries, and has studied significantly in sales, marketing, leadership and customer management throughout that period.