This year, the Synergy Group of Companies (SGC) is proudly marking a significant milestone in its journey—30 years of enriching the communities in which they operate, and establishing true synergies with their clients and partners. While this milestone is an opportunity to reflect on where they started, it’s also provided Dennis Mozak, SGC’s founder and CEO, and Tim Varughese, their group president, an opportunity to reflect on the culture they’ve been fortunate to build—and the many people who have helped propel the organization forward.
From the very beginning, in 1996, when Mozak first founded Synergy with a vision rooted in people, relationships, and shared success, the story was never about any one individual. It was always about what could be achieved together through common goals and a collective sense of purpose. What began in a small office in Edmonton’s River Valley has since grown into a diversified, national organization—driven by owner-builders who have a commitment to collaboration, innovation, and doing meaningful work for their clients and communities.
Early on, Synergy was focused on delivering projects for real estate developers, acting as a trusted partner that would help them through the entire development lifecycle. “There was a true focus and passion for connecting people to our client’s outcomes,” Mozak recalls. “This became a core part of our DNA, and remains essential to our value system today.”
“Synergy has come a long way over the past 30 years,” says Varughese. “It’s important to recognize and celebrate important milestones in our journey. We don’t often take the time to look backward, but I find it very humbling to not only learn from our story but share it proudly.”
Over the years, there have been many key milestones that have helped define Synergy’s path—from moving into the Synergy Centre in St. Albert during a period of rapid growth and delivering landmark developments like the Brewery District to completing its first acquisition in 2018, expanding into Ontario in 2020, and completing its largest project in history—the first phase of LUXO Place in Ottawa, Ontario—in 2025.
“These moments certainly reflect our growth in scale over the years,” acknowledges Mozak. “But they’re also the perfect demonstration of the principle this company was built on—what a group of people with a common vision for the future, proudly working together across the country, can accomplish.”
“It’s no secret that the construction market has seen its share of foundational shifts and challenges over the last three decades,” Mozak says. “Impressively our industry continues to be resilient and is built to navigate shifting environments across just about every facet. What we do is not for the faint of heart. But done right, we get to build the communities in which we live, and my hope is that future generations see the impact you can have and get excited about the idea of being involved in the construction industry.”
That optimism and excitement for the future permeate the organization. For both Mozak and Varughese, it’s certainly helped guide their approach to building a strong foundation for the years ahead.
“Succession is very important and it takes intention and focus,” says Varughese. “I was fortunate enough to join an organization where the leadership was focused on succession and I’m grateful for it. It’s also something I’m honoured to carry forward with the rest of the leadership team. Launching our broad-based employee ownership program in the past year was a fundamental step in how we do this over the long term.”
The launch of this program was ultimately a solidifying of SGC’s values—creating real opportunity, shared accountability, and a culture where success is truly collective. Today, that vision continues to grow. With a broad presence across sectors, including healthcare, light industrial, commercial, residential, institutional, and beyond, and with expansion into new markets and regions across Canada, their strength lies in both the diversity of what they do and the commitment to how they do it.
As a born-and-bred Edmonton organization, Synergy also prides itself on supporting the communities it operates in. Whether through project partnerships or charitable giving, they invest significant effort in giving back to organizations that are making a meaningful difference in their communities. Over the years, this has included partnerships with the Jerry Forbes Centre Foundation, St. Michael’s Health Group, the Roozen Family Hospice Centre, and many others.
Their involvement with the Jerry Forbes Centre Foundation is a great example of their approach in action. Their initial partnership ultimately spanned more than 10 years, from the earliest stages of design all the way through to the eventual renovation and completion of their new facility in 2018. During that time, they not only invested significant time and effort in supporting the design and planning process, but assisted with fundraising, sponsorship opportunities, and other services to help make the project viable for this important community hub, which houses several charities, including Santas Anonymous. To this day, their team continues to support the Jerry Forbes Centre wherever possible.
Another key pillar of their community-focused approach is their Synergy Cares program, part of an annual program that provides employees with paid time off to support local charitable organizations. Each year, they select charitable organizations in their geographic markets that align with their values and charitable giving goals. Employees are then invited to participate in designated Synergy Cares days to support those organizations, while also providing employees opportunities to support other organizations of their own choosing. The goal of the program is to use their collective time and passion to leave a lasting impact on their communities,
With such an emphasis on their culture and people, SGC has always been proud to celebrate major employee milestones. Over their 30 years, they’ve celebrated over 30 team members anniversaries between 10 and 25 years, with eight of those being 25-year milestones—a testament to practicing what they preach and the investment they make in the growth and development of their employees.
Reflecting on where SGC has come since its founding, Mozak and Varughese see something that has truly been Built Together—through decades of safe, high-quality projects, strong relationships, and the shared partnership of their teams across every business unit.
They’re also Powered Forward—by the energy, ideas, and ownership mindset of the people who’ve helped make the organization what it is today, and who continue to tackle complex challenges and deliver meaningful results every day. It’s this foundational belief in their people that both Mozak and Varughese see as a differentiator that will continue to drive Synergy’s success in the years ahead—enabling SGC to continue to grow responsibly, innovate boldly, and strengthen the relationships that have been fundamental to their success.
“Thirty years is something we are incredibly proud of, and we recognize and are grateful for all the project teams, subtrade partners, clients, architects, consultants, and community leaders who have helped us achieve this. Reflecting back, you quickly realize how many people are part of this—it’s inspiring. Looking ahead, we are motivated to launch into the next 30 years, building on our employee-ownership model and mindset.” says Varughese
“Thank you to every Synergy team member, client, partner, and community supporter—your trust and support have shaped who we are today,” says Mozak.
As SGC celebrates this milestone, more than anything else they know that it belongs to everyone who has been part of the journey—team members, clients, partners, and communities.
“To get to 30 years, you need all aspects of the community—incredible partners and an exceptional team,” says Varughese. “It’s no small feat, and we’re fortunate to be able to say thank you to all of them. So thank you, and we look forward to shaping this next chapter in the same way our first was shaped: together.”