Meet Diana Daniely: The Wolf, the Duck, and the 2025 Women Build It Woman of the Year

Diana is the first to laugh at the winding road that brought her here. She originally had her sights set on law school, drawn to problem-solving and making things right.  The skills that first attracted her to law became the qualities that set her apart in luxury homebuilding. Along the way, she found room for the things she loves most: strategy, luxury, and the satisfaction of something done exceptionally well.

“The custom building industry ended up being the perfect mix of all of that,” she says. “I get to solve problems, think strategically, work with luxury design and product, and be part of creating someone’s dream home. I never knew my dream would be to sell toilets, but here I am, almost 20 years later, living that dream.”

Today, Diana works in outside builder sales at Ferguson Home, partnering with developers, builders, designers, architects, and remodelers from the early stages of a project through completion. Her day-to-day is a constant mix of relationship management, problem-solving, pricing strategy, and keeping every moving piece aligned so her clients never feel the friction behind the scenes.

Two of her clients have given her nicknames that say everything about how she operates. One calls her “the Wolf” — a nod to the Pulp Fiction fixer who cleans up the messes. The other calls her “Ducky” — calm on the surface, kicking hard underneath. “That’s honestly how my team and I operate every day,” she says. “We deliver with a smile and do whatever it takes to get the job done right.”

Two larger customers took a chance on them early, and that credibility opened doors. From there, the team just kept showing up and doing exactly what they said they would do.

One of her defining wins from that era? Landing Wedgewood Building Company — still her largest customer today, more than 13 years later. “I really wanted their business,” Diana says. “I started by walking their models, then worked with different brands and negotiated volume pricing if they would make a switch. I was able to find them a better brand at a better price.” They gave her a shot. She grew from there, one category at a time.

When the team finally had enough sales to justify a new location, they bet on the Indiana Design Center — at the time, nearly empty. They stuck their necks out, and it paid off. That original team of four has grown to around 50 people today, with roles spanning install coordination, warranty, post-sales, consultants, and more.

“2008 taught me that every customer, every order, every creative solution, and every person on the team shapes the culture,” Diana says. “I get scrappy. That mindset is what got us here, and it’s what still drives me today.”