Award-winning implementation recognized with Yardi’s inaugural Synergy Award for excellence in business transformation
In the telling of Marcon’s story, “transformation” is at heart. While it’s a seemingly overused word these days, they mean it and they embody it. Truly and holistically. Marcon is a family-owned business making their mark in the competitive Metro Vancouver real estate market. They’ve spent four decades building a reputation for quality across its construction, development, and property management operations. Founded in 1985 by Marco Paolella, who was originally waiting to get into welding school when he started his construction business in the Fraser Valley, Marcon has evolved into one of British Columbia’s most respected real estate firms. With over 13,500 homes built and another 17,000 in the pipeline, this vertically integrated company has ambitious plans to double construction volume, making their technological transformation critical to supporting this expansive growth.
We are deeply honored to have our transformation journey recognized with a Yardi Synergy Award. This acknowledgment validates our strategic approach to creating infrastructure that can support Marcon’s ambitious growth while staying true to our core values.
The award celebrates not just the technology implementation, but the people-centered transformation that’s allowing our team members to engage in more value-enriching work as we scale.
–Rob Malli, Chief Financial Officer, Marcon
The Challenge: Infrastructure for Growth
When Rob Malli joined Marcon as CFO with an expansive and unique portfolio encompassing finance, business technology, and people and culture, he immediately recognized the challenge.
“I’m more of an operations-based CFO,” Malli explains. His experience implementing Yardi and collaborating with Gelbgroup while at previous organizations gave him a useful perspective on how interconnected systems could transform operations.
The assessment Malli conducted revealed that Marcon’s existing systems, while it worked for their past operations, would need significant enhancement to support their ambitious growth targets. As with many rapidly scaling companies, their accounting infrastructure was primarily focused on day-to-day transaction processing rather than strategic forecasting. Teams were working diligently but often with different systems that weren’t designed to communicate seamlessly with each other, creating extra steps in their workflows. To prepare for doubling their construction volume, Marcon recognized the need for more sophisticated corporate budgeting tools and a more integrated approach to project financial planning.
An Award-Winning Strategic Approach to Transformation
To address these challenges, Marcon created a new role: Project Manager, Strategic Initiatives. Sarah Ozahioglu stepped into this position in the Fall of 2024, bringing extensive experience in transformation including project management, change management, agility strategy, and technology implementation.
“My role at Marcon is to help lead this business through transformation,” Ozahioglu explains. “We have an opportunity to strengthen the infrastructure to support the growth and scalability, so that’s why I’m here.”
Together with Gelbgroup, Marcon developed a phased approach to transformation spanning two to three years. Phase One focused on implementing Yardi’s Construction Manager, Procure to Pay, Corporate and Construction Core Accounting, and Gelbgroup’s custom Procore Connector—creating an integrated platform.
“We are proud to accept this inaugural Synergy Award on behalf of our collaboration with Marcon. This partnership exemplifies what can be achieved when industry and technical expertise meet visionary leadership.
Together, we created more than just a system implementation. We have established a foundation for sustainable growth that honors Marcon’s four-decade legacy while enabling their future aspirations.”
–Geoffrey Gelb, Founder and President, Gelbgroup Consulting
Pictured above accepting a Synergy Award on behalf of Marcon and Gelbgroup, May 20, 2025, at the Yardi ICN Executive Briefing in Santa Barbara, California (L to R): Catherine Stantus, Senior Director, Support Services, Gelbgroup; (award presenter) Terri Dowen, SVP Sales, Yardi Systems; Leslie Martin, Vice President, Custom Development; Geoffrey Gelb, Founder and President, Gelbgroup Consulting.
Breaking Down Silos
The implementation is helping to dismantle operational silos between Marcon Construction and Marcon Development, creating an integrated view that supports cross-functional collaboration. This integration is particularly important as the company continues its expansion across Metro Vancouver with diverse projects ranging from residential developments to hotel properties and senior living facilities.
“We have built this strategically and purposely to bring anyone who’s involved in a PO to an invoice to a payment process together in one system,” Ozahioglu says. “Before it was very siloed and separate. Today, so many collaborative conversations are happening across the departments which weren’t happening before; and the energy is starting to increase.”
This transformation goes beyond merely digitizing existing processes. Malli pushed his team to reimagine workflows rather than simply recreate what they were already doing. “I did not want my team just to redefine what we were doing already. It was too easy to do that in these implementations,” he notes.
The Human Element
Both Malli and Ozahioglu emphasize that while technology is critical, this is fundamentally about people and how they work. This people-first approach aligns with Marcon’s legacy as a company that has operated at a scale that few privately-owned Canadian real estate companies reach, while maintaining its commitment to quality craftsmanship established by founder Marco Paolella.
“At the end of the day, it’s how we connect with each other. It’s how we motivate, influence and come together. To support each other and move forward,” Ozahioglu reflects. “Those are power skills.”
Seated (L to R) Sarah Ozahioglu, Manager, Strategic Initiatives Project; Elaine Spacey, Director, Project Accounting
Malli echoes this sentiment: “I want people to have enjoyable work that is value-added to the company as well as for their own satisfaction and what they’re contributing towards.”
The transformation is creating what Ozahioglu calls “value enriching roles” as manual tasks become automated, allowing team members to focus on more strategic work. “We’re also helping people see that there’s a possibility to reinvent themselves and provide more value rich roles. And it’s really neat to see that happen in real time,” she notes.
Early Results and Looking Forward
The Synergy Award-winning implementation is already showing promising results, even in the early stages.
“Tasks took hours, sometimes even days. It was frustrating to go back and forth because data was housed in different places. It’s now in one place,” Ozahioglu shares. The system is also beginning to provide insights through data points that weren’t visible before, enabling smarter decision-making.
Looking ahead, the transformation continues with Phase Two focusing on vendor management supported by Yardi and the Gelbgroup Connector for Procore. In addition, Malli is exploring future possibilities with Yardi’s AI solutions, ensuring these technological advances align with both operational needs and people-centered values.
A Partnership for Success
The Yardi Synergy Award recognizes not just the implementation itself, but the strength of the partnership between Marcon and Gelbgroup that made it possible. “We value their expertise and point of view,” Ozahioglu said of working with the Gelbgroup team, led by Liz Oliver, Senior Yardi Implementer. “We consistently leverage them for best practices. We trust them.”
The Construction Manager implementation represents not just a technology update but a strategic transformation guided by leaders with the unique perspective to integrate financial, technological, and human considerations. By leveraging Malli’s prior experience with Yardi implementations and combining it with a holistic approach to transformation, the project has established a foundation that positions Marcon for sustained growth while maintaining its four-decade commitment to quality.
As Marcon transitions into its second generation of leadership, with Nic Paolella now serving as Executive Vice President, the company continues to balance growth with its core values. This technological transformation supports their diverse portfolio of current projects, which includes high-rise residential towers, hotel developments, senior living communities, and purpose-built rental housing across Metro Vancouver.
“We are deeply honored to have our transformation journey recognized with a Yardi Synergy Award,” said Malli. “This acknowledgment validates our strategic approach to creating infrastructure that can support Marcon’s ambitious growth while staying true to our core values. The award celebrates not just the technology implementation, but the people-centered transformation that’s allowing our team members to engage in more value-enriching work as we scale.”
“We are proud to accept this inaugural Synergy Award on behalf of our collaboration with Marcon. This partnership exemplifies what can be achieved when industry and technical expertise meet visionary leadership,” said Geoffrey Gelb, Founder and President of Gelbgroup. “Together, we created more than just a system implementation. We have established a foundation for sustainable growth that honors Marcon’s four-decade legacy while enabling their future aspirations.”
