The Waterloo Region Home Builders’ Association (WRHBA) has appointed Mike Puopolo, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Polocorp Inc., as Board Chair for the 2026-2027 term.
A Recognized Voice for the Region’s Builders
WRHBA serves as the official voice of the new residential home construction, land development and professional renovation industry across the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. Its mandate brings builder members together around the issues that shape where and how families live in the region. Marie Schroeder serves as the association’s Chief Executive Officer.
For 2026-2027, an 11-director slate was acclaimed by the membership in attendance. The board reflects the breadth of the industry, drawing directors from construction, engineering, design, investment and development firms across Waterloo Region.
A Handoff from Strong Leadership
Mike Puopolo takes the role from Matt Ninomiya of WalterFedy, who served as Board Chair for the 2025-2026 term. Ninomiya remains on the board, and the association continues to benefit from his experience and steady leadership over the past year. Polocorp extends its thanks to Ninomiya for his service and for the foundation he helped build during his term.
Long-Tenured Leadership and Deep Local Roots
Mike Puopolo leads Polocorp Inc. alongside his brother and co-CEO, Joseph Puopolo, at a company founded in 1978. Polocorp is a family-built integrated land development company with more than 40 years of history in Waterloo Region. The company’s work has helped shape communities across the region for generations, and that long record of building informs the responsibilities now before him at WRHBA.
Puopolo brings to the role a working knowledge of the issues that matter most to the region’s builders and their communities. He serves on several association committees, including WEDAC, the WRHBA Cambridge Development Liaison Committee, and the WRHBA Woolwich/Wilmot Development Liaison Committee. That service has given him direct insight into development coordination across the region’s municipalities, from Cambridge in the south to Woolwich and Wilmot in the north.
A Board Built for the Work Ahead
The 2026-2027 board slate returns a strong core of familiar leadership. Returning directors include Matt Ninomiya of WalterFedy, Carrie Curtis of Killam Apartment REIT, Graem Jackson of New Lifestyle Homes, Jason Malfara of Forward Urban Contractors, Kevin Fergin of Crozier Consulting, and Reema Masri of Masri O Architects.
New to the board are Alex Vandersluis of Auburn Developments, Chris Oke of Clark Construction Management, and Mathew Warzecha of Activa. Together, the returning and new directors bring a balance of seasoned perspective and fresh thinking to the association’s work.
Leadership Grounded in Building Lasting Communities
Mike Puopolo’s appointment to the WRHBA Board Chair is a natural extension of the company’s own history in the region. For more than four decades, Polocorp has planned and built the places where people live, work and raise their families. That commitment to the long view is precisely what leadership of a builders’ association demands.
WRHBA members rely on leadership that understands both the practical work of development and the larger responsibility of shaping communities. Mike Puopolo’s background and his committee experience at the association position him well to lead the board through the year ahead.
As Polocorp has long said:
“As a family built company, we understand how the urban form can impact a community. Polocorp is committed to building lasting communities for people and their families.”
That understanding now extends into the leadership of the region’s home builders’ association, where the decisions made today will shape neighbourhoods for decades to come.
The association welcomes the opportunity to continue its work in the year ahead, advancing the interests of home builders, land developers and renovators while responding to the needs of the communities they serve across Waterloo Region.