Brent Senio: Finding Community Wherever Life Takes You

At age 14, when most kids his age were focused on video games or sports, Brent Senio “officially” joined the local fire department in his small hometown of Thorsby, Alberta. He had already spent many of his childhood years supporting small-town organizations — from washing the town’s firetrucks to working for his family’s electrical contracting and retail business. “Thankfully, I was a big kid, so there weren’t too many questions raised when I was operating a ditcher, doing live electrical work, or setting power poles with a digger truck,” he says with a chuckle. By age 22, Brent had become the youngest fire department captain in the province — an accomplishment he is still proud of to this day. “I had been involved my entire life, giving back to the community and having some fun with it,” says Brent.

Later in life, Brent recognized that these small acts were bringing him closer to what really mattered most to him — his community.

In addition to his work with the fire department, Brent spent countless hours working alongside his Dad in the family’s electrical business. He credits being ‘brought up in the industry’ and the positive influence of his peers and family with inspiring him to become an electrical engineer.

After graduation, Brent started his career at a company called Kenonic Controls. As was common in the 1990s and early 2000s, the company Brent worked for was acquired by another larger company (Emerson Process Management), and his network of connections grew.

Years later, after working for another privately owned company that was acquired, Brent found himself looking for a new role. Because of his lifelong connections in the electrical and automation world, he was in a comfortable position of knowing, or having worked with, just about everyone in the automation industry in Calgary.

Brent recalls one client who has been with him since the beginning. Over the course of 15 years, this single client relationship resulted in the completion of 500 projects — from major capital to ventilation hood upgrades. “I am very proud of client relationships that reach back to when I was first entering the engineering phase of my career,” he says.

Because of these strong relationships, Brent joined the team at True North Solutions as Vice President of Engineering in 2020. In a twist of fate, True North was located in the very same building as Brent’s first electrical engineering job in the 1990s, and many of the same people Brent worked with at Kenonic were now at True North. “It’s really like coming home in a way,” he says. “It’s been great to get the band back together.”

While the familiarity was a bonus, Brent was really drawn to True North because he felt aligned both personally and professionally with the company’s values. “The True Values resonated with me, and I was like, ‘Yeah, these are my people,’” he says.

Over the years, Brent has come to appreciate all aspects of his role. “I do enjoy the actual business part of what we do, but I also like creating teams and growing the business,” he says. “I get a lot of fulfillment from seeing teams develop and bringing people on board and seeing them thrive.”

When it comes to growing the business, Brent says the whole True North team rallies together to make it happen. “It goes right back to the True Values,” he says. “A big part of my success is the firm backing from our owners, the collaborative nature of our team, and an environment where I don’t have to worry about politics.”

Collaboration, trust, and respect have always been important to Brent, and just like with his role with the fire department, relying on others to have your back is a huge part of the True North business. Brent is thrilled to work in an environment where this happens every day. “It all starts at the top. The relationships we have with our staff and our clients are rock solid,” he says.

Brent’s life has come full circle in a lot of ways, and while he might not get back to his rural roots as often as he would like, he’s grateful for the life they’ve given him. “I have a good foundation and a supportive environment to thank for my success.”