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Businesses roll from his hands
Ottawa, Ontario - June 16, 2007
As reported in the National post newspaper
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=28beecf9-1d7c-4035-aa4b-f305d645131d
If courage is action in spite of fear, then Nishith Goel is one brave businessman.
When he left Northern Telecom in 1995, he knew that while he might be on a path to personal fulfillment, the ditches were deep and the winds of change would not always be at his back.
"It took me 12 years to start out on my own, and it's a very difficult to thing to venture off on your own without a backup," Mr. Goel says. "But I'm very glad I did. I have never done anything more satisfying in my professional life."
Mr. Goel is the founder, president and CEO of Cistel Technology Inc. He is also the co-founder of both CHiL Semiconductor and iPine Networks, which was acquired by Nakina Systems. Mr. Goel once worked in big business; now, he creates it. His talent earned him the 2007 ICCC Technology Achievement Award.
Mr. Goel, who was first educated in India and earned his PhD in systems design engineering from the University of Waterloo, began his professional career in the semiconductor components division at the Bell Northern Research in Ottawa in 1984. He moved to Northern Telecom in 1988, working in semiconductor manufacturing and then in software engineering.
In 1995, he transformed his life and reinvented his career when he decided to venture off on his own and set up Cistel Technology, an information technology and engineering consulting company.
Last March, Cistel was recognized by Branham300 and Backbone magazine as one of the fastest growing Canadian professional services organization in 2006. It was the fourth consecutive year Cistel received this recognition. The Ottawa-based company ranked as one of the top 250 Canadian Technology companies, with a 37% revenue increase from $10.5-million in 2005 to $13-million in 2006.
"Patience, hard work and a passion for what you do is what will lead you to success," Mr. Goel says. "You have to believe that you're doing something or creating something that the world really needs. I believe that. And that, along with lots of patience and a willingness to work 10 to 12 hours per day, I think is key."
Success did not come quickly but it was worth the wait. Cistel was named one of the Top 50 fastest growing technology companies in Canada in 2001. In 2005, it was also recognized by the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce. Cistel has offices in Ottawa, Toronto, Atlanta and New Delhi.
"My proudest professional achievement is growing Cistel and creating hundreds of quality jobs in the process," he says. "I take pride in the fact that our employees enjoy their jobs. Almost anyone can create jobs, but creating jobs that give people satisfaction is much more challenging."
Mr. Goel's latest undertaking is developing Norleaf Networks, which introduced its Hi-Brid VoIP Telephony Solution in 2005.
He also co-founded CHiL Semiconductor in 2005. Its patented technology helps designers save board space and reduce the cost of powering high-performance microprocessors. CHil Semicondutor has raised more than $18-million in venture capital in the past two years and recently won the Ontario Centre of Excellence award for outstanding research collaboration and commercialization.
Mr. Goel also co-founded iPine Networks in 2001. In 2003, it was named Internet telephony product of the year by the Technology Marketing Corp. That same year, the company was acquired by Nakina Systems of Ottawa.
"We've put together three companies in the last three years, and I'm certainly proud of that," Mr. Goel says. "It's amazing to really be able to create something that people find useful."
The father of two founded the charitable Cistel Foundation in 2003 and is a member of the Queensway-Carleton Hospital Foundation board. He received the Award of Recognition for enhancing the image of Indo-Canadians from the Indo-Canada Ottawa Business Chamber in 2006 and the lifetime achievement award from the Indo-Canada Association in 2004.
Mr. Goel says when--or if --he ever decides to slow down a little bit, he would like to spend more time travelling. "I think one of the first things I'd like to do is explore Canada," he says. "I'd like to go from the West Coast to the East Coast. I can tell you what I won't be doing any time soon, though, and that is retire."
ICCC award night