About Sisu
Owners and capital delivery organizations facing high-consequence capital decisions need one thing: independent judgment from someone who has operated at that level of consequence. Not a firm with conflicting relationships on your mandate. Not a practice that delegates after the engagement starts. Not a permanent layer of project administration.
That is what Sisu provides.
What “Sisu” Means
Sisu (pronounced see-soo) is a Finnish character trait that I grew up with. It describes stoic, resilient resolve sustained under pressure. It is the ability to engage difficult circumstances with composure and see them through to the right outcome, not the expedient one.
I named the practice after it because it reflects what this work demands, and what clients should expect from the advisor they bring into their most consequential decisions.
How Sisu Operates
Sisu operates exclusively as an owner-side advisory practice. This is not a positioning choice. It is a structural one. Sisu does not provide construction, design, or legal services. The advice is independent because the practice is independent.
Engagements are clearly scoped and led directly by the Principal Advisor from start to finish. When specialist depth is required, Sisu draws on a select network of senior professionals with whom the Principal Advisor has worked directly. Every engagement, regardless of scope, is directed and controlled by Sisu.
Mandates are defined around specific capital challenges, not open-ended retainers.
Leadership
Dave Lehto, P.Eng.
Founder & Principal Advisor
Sisu Project Advisory
Dave Lehto spent over two decades in senior leadership roles responsible for major capital programs in institutional, commercial, and infrastructure environments.
Prior to founding Sisu Project Advisory, he served as Chief of University Planning, Design & Construction at the University of Toronto, where he oversaw a capital program exceeding $5 billion across hundreds of concurrent projects. That role required sustained executive judgment across governance, procurement, delivery performance, and commercial risk at scale and under institutional scrutiny.
Before that, Dave held national leadership roles at Stantec and JLL, leading owner representative, project controls, management consulting, and commissioning practices across Canada. At Stantec, he also served as Ontario & Atlantic Canada Managing Leader of Program & Project Management for ten years.
His experience includes work with organizations such as Canada Post, CIBC, Metrolinx, Nieuport Aviation, Target, Woodbine Entertainment, York University, and large multidisciplinary practices within Stantec.
Throughout his career, Dave remained directly engaged in projects and programs, working with clients and leadership teams to resolve challenges, implement structural changes, and stabilize delivery performance. That direct engagement is what Sisu brings to every mandate.
Starting a Conversation
Prospective clients are often navigating a sensitive situation when they reach out: a program under pressure, a governance gap that has not yet become a crisis, or a dispute building toward significant exposure. These are not easy conversations to initiate.
Engagements begin with a focused discussion of the specific challenge and the decisions it requires.
Confidential. No obligation. Senior-level from the first conversation.
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