Greg Finnamore

Chief Financial Officer

As the VP, Finance, Strategic Sourcing and Support Services, Greg and his team are focused on delivering a cost effective, robust suite of services to both internal and external stakeholders. Greg is responsible for all financial reporting, payment processing, sourcing, and contracting, fleet management and other support services for OCHC.

A Chartered Professional Accountant, with over 30 years of experience, Greg has held senior operational and financial roles in financial services , capital markets, consulting, and public sectors. Throughout his career Greg has been viewed as a change agent and has delivered several large initiatives and process improvements across multiple portfolios that drive value for the organization.

Brian Gilligan

Chief Officer, Community and Tenant Support

As the Chief Officer of community and tenant support, Brian Gilligan manages a team of professionals who engage tenants, partners and the broader City in creating healthy, safe and inclusive Ottawa Community Housing (OCH) neighbourhoods. Based upon the belief that the lived experience of OCH’s 32,000 tenants is an amazing resource, Community Development, Tenant Support, Community Safety Services and Volunteer Engagement staff work with OCH and its partners to involve tenants in the decisions that affect them.

Brian brings almost 35 years of experience from Canada, Africa, and Asia working with marginalized and vulnerable communities seeking to exercise their rights to equality, health care, education, and economic opportunities.

Shaun Simms

Chief, People, Communications and Strategy Officer

As the Chief, People, Communications and Strategies, Shaun Simms is a highly respected senior leader with over 30 years of experience at OCH. Her role highlights the importance of our people and their involvement in creating our desired culture. That is, connecting the dots between how the day-to day-work that our employees do contributes to OCH’S strategic goals.

Shaun provides leadership and oversight to the human resources and communications functions, fostering a culture of leadership, accountability and continuous improvement. OCH’s culture roadmap reflects a well-planned journey that contributes to a positive and engaging employee experience. Under Shaun’s leadership, structures and supports reinforce our strengths, promote health, safety, wellness, diversity and inclusion, encourage professional development and celebrate organizational excellence.

On any given day, Shaun wants every OCH employee to be able to say with conviction, “we are proud because every day we make a difference.”

Shaun is passionate about inspiring a positive, tenant-focused approach that reflects our values, through our people. Her innovative, entrepreneurial nature, coupled with her proven ability to lead and promote collaboration within the corporation and across the social housing sector, are at the heart of all that she does.

Cliff Youdale

Chief Development Officer

As the Chief Development Officer, Cliff Youdale P. Eng., and his staff are responsible for the well-being of OCH’s $3 Billion in building assets. As a professional engineer with over 30 years of experience in both the public and private sector construction industry, Cliff brings a pragmatic and action-oriented approach to this position.

His team of industry professionals has forged a strategic approach to asset management by developing long-term strategies for maintaining, repairing and replacing OCH’s ageing stock. With specific focuses on new construction, capital repair, preventative maintenance and green initiatives, his team delivers comprehensive and proactive programs to ensure OCH’s building assets serve tenants well into the future.

Alain Cadieux

Vice-President, Tenant Experience and Quality Assurance

As the VP of Tenant Experience and Quality Assurance, Alain Cadieux provides leadership and oversight of the property management, tenancy administration and support services teams. This includes, the 24/7 call centre, maintenance, tenancy administration, integrated pest management, vacancy preparation, maintenance administration, preventative and maintenance services for 15 000 homes and 32 000 tenants.  This team is dedicated to the enhancement of the tenant experience through the delivery of quality services to every tenant, every home.

Alain has 12 years of experience in the social and affordable housing sector, covering all areas of operations. He’s dedicated to a tenant-centered approach focused on quality, innovation and continuous improvement to provide healthy, safe and inclusive homes in an effective and sustainable way. A leader that is focused on people, promotes a culture of leadership and collaboration to empower, engage and motivate every member of the team to make a difference everyday.

Alain is currently an active member of the Board of Directors for the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association, a sectoral organization representing non-profit housing providers across Ontario.

Christine Garnier

Vice-President, Asset Renewal and Digital Solutions

As VP of Asset Renewal and Digital Solutions, Christine Garnier provides leadership and oversite of the Asset Renewal and Digital Solutions Teams. With over 24 years of experience in Municipal Government and Governance, Project Management, Infrastructure, Construction and Development, Christine and her team are responsible for the repair and replacement of OCH’s ageing stock and the Corporate IT portfolio.

In her previous work, Christine led multiple teams within the public and private sectors, focusing on mentoring and coaching staff to enhance project delivery and results. With an annual capital budget of $45 million, Christine and her team of industry professionals have incorporated a tenant-focused approach to project management. As stewards of our portfolio, Christine and her team strive to provide our Tenants with safe affordable homes that will last well into the future.

Cindy Newell

Vice-President, People, Culture and Strategy

As VP, People, Culture and Strategy, Cindy is responsible for providing leadership in identifying and executing strategies and approaches that fully optimize OCH’s talent and employee experience, fostering an engaged workforce, and supporting the achievement of business objectives in alignment with OCH’s desired culture.

Cindy enthusiastically leads the HR team in the delivery of all HR functions, including organizational development, talent acquisition and talent management, total compensation, employee and labour relations, health, safety and wellness, labour relations, and HR policy and program development.

A passionate Human Resources leader, Cindy has over 20 years of experience leading the development and implementation of innovative HR programs and services in support of key business challenges in a variety of industries including retail, telecommunications, the electricity sector, and social housing.

Demonstrating her commitment to providing mentorship to aspiring HR professionals, Cindy teaches at Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business in the Human Resources Management Program and is an active Human Resources Professional Association (HRPA) member and Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL).