Bill Bates - Founder & President
A native Etobicoke kid, Bill has lived in the store’s neighbourhood for most of his life. Following high school, Bill went onto pursue a computer science degree. However, the desire to get involved with music retail was too strong and in 1987 Bill left York University and began working at a local Mississauga music store. From that point on it didn’t take long before he opened the first incarnation of KAOS Music in 1989. Since that time Bill has worked at developing and growing his business. Bill splits his time these days between time at the store, time in his two lesson studios in Oakville and time in the company office (in his home), working on business development.
While Bill enjoys playing music (drums in particular) he is smart enough to keep his day job. Bill is an avid golfer and more recently has become a bit of a boating nut (jet boats and jetskis in particular). While not working Bill can almost surely be found spending time with his wife Shana and his two kids, Olivia and Calvin .. or riding one of his watercraft around lake Ontario or the Severn Waterway.
Lou Roppoli - Store Manager
Lou, a native of the south Etobicoke area has been involved in the music store business pretty much all of his life. In the early days he was just getting kicked out of them but for a long time now, Lou has called his place of employment a music store. After Lou finished college it was clear to him that the retail sales floor felt the most like home to him. For most of the past 15 years, Lou has become a favorite of our customers with an unmistakable enthusiasm and classic “corny” sense of humour.
Lou is a lifelong student of the guitar. Those who know him know of his in depth knowledge of guitars, amplifiers (he builds them) and effects. He is also a total nerd when it comes to guitar players from the past. When it comes to guitars and amps, Lou is your man.
Lou calls Oakville his home these days with his wife Shelley and his 3 boys, Stefano, Gian Luca and Piero. Outside of KAOS you can almost always find Lou with friends enjoying some sort of awesome looking meal.
Jay Stradiotto - Store Manager
Jay grew up in the Etobicoke area and was one of KAOS Music’s first ever customers. It seemed a natural fit when he joined the team over 15 years ago.
After finishing school at Ryerson and the Harris Institute for the Arts, Jay went on to start a painting business in Toronto while playing part time in and around Toronto. However, for more then a decade now, Jay calls KAOS his work home as one of our managers. Outside of KAOS Jay can very often be found playing in a variety of music groups and when he's not playing, you will likely find him in the north somewhere relaxing ...
Sheri Josephson - School Administrator
Sheri joined our team many years ago as a piano instructor. Since then, she has become an invaluable member of our overall team. Sheri splits her time between teaching a full schedule of private students, co-organizing our Yamaha Music Education Classes for young children and administering our schools schedules and instructors. Add to that, Sheri acts as an assistant to president Bill Bates. Outside of her duties here at KAOS Music, Sheri devotes much of her time to volunteer work with her church. For fun, Sheri can be found attending concerts, reading and taking in any number of sporting events with her husband Jonathan. While Sheri is often found behind the scenes her at KAOS, she is an integral part of our organization.