He was born in Chhapar (Rajasthan) on 13 November 1946 to Gogi Devi and Mahal Chand, who had a thriving business in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). During that unfortunate period in the history of India when the grand united India was getting partitioned, millions had to flee from East Pakistan leaving behind almost all their work, property and assets. His parents too had to flee and move their entire family to their native place, Chhapar.
The family strikes new roots
Although the family was safely settled in their ancestral village, Mahal Chand decided to move eastward again but this time, to Assam in Northeast India. With the responsibility of rebuilding what he had lost, he then joined a company at a wage of Rs. 25 a month in 1947. Needless to say that it was a tough struggle but he was endowed with belief in his capabilities to overcome the hard times and within a decade he got settled in a small business in Guwahati, the largest city of Assam. Thereupon, he brought his entire family to Guwahati, where he ensured that all his children received a good education.
Just like all great achievers, Norton takes pride in his humble beginning. He looked back to an episode from his early childhood when he experienced the power of electricity for the first time after his family moved to Guwahati. “We hadn’t ever seen electricity and used to study in the light of oil lamps. When we went to Guwahati, I saw light powered by electricity for the first time. It was a surprise for us. We turned on the switch and lights came on and when we turned off the switch, the lights went out. I wondered how!” he chuckled.
A streak of excellence since childhood
Navaratna always took his studies seriously and it reflected in his academic achievements. His interest in Hindi literature led him to pursue the Hindi Ratna certification (equivalent to masters in Hindi) when he was in grade 9. After completing pre-university, he got selected in BITS, Pilani, wherefrom he graduated in electrical engineering in 1969 with Gold Medal. Thereafter, he got a Cornell scholarship for postgraduation in engineering. He went to the USA for his studies, which he completed in 1970. Thereafter, he joined Bunker Ramo Corporation, Trumbull, Connecticut, where he played a key role in the design of semiconductor RAMs for the computer systems of the New York Stock Exchange between 1970 and 1974. He also completed his MBA from Bridgeport University (USA) in 1973. By now, Navaratna had become Norton.
Like all patriotic young men, Norton wanted to use his knowledge and experience of electrical engineering to set up a business in electronics in his country and returned home in 1974. Little did he know about the impending crisis that was to erupt the very next year – the Emergency. It was a period of great confusion and uncertainty and it was surely not conducive for a brilliant young engineer to set up a business in electronics. In fact, even without the emergency, it would have been difficult for a US-returned professional to start a business smoothly in the India of that time.
Where there is a will, there is a way
Norton is made of different mettle and he wasn’t just going to back down from a challenge. He was already a businessman at heart unlike most of his peers at that age. The other remarkable quality in him was the level of professional maturity he had developed, whereby he looked at business opportunities on merit and not just on the basis of his area of specialisation. He loved electrical engineering but he was not going to let that become a barrier in his journey towards setting up a successful business. Therefore, when opportunities in electronics did not materialise in India but a good opportunity in construction came his way, he grabbed it; the rest is history.
Construction: The Holy Grail
The challenges notwithstanding, Norton put his best foot forward in his new venture and found the sweet spot of success in the construction industry and had quite a few landmarks. He then diversified into international trade as it offered very good opportunities for growth. However, he increasingly found it difficult to work around the myriad rules of operating an export-import business in India. This nature of business involves overseas operations for which offices abroad are needed but the rules in India created too many barriers to operate in this mode seamlessly. Eventually, in 1988, Norton decided that he had had enough of such barriers and moved base to Canada even though the construction business in India was flourishing.
With his base in Canada, he had a world of opportunities to grow and prosper in international trade and by now he had offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Burma (now Myanmar). Understandably, this work involved a whole lot of travelling across continents that contributed significantly towards Norton’s travels to 82 countries around the world. By 1996, he realised that his sons were not interested in crazy travel and favoured a more settled life. This was when he finally decided to wind up his international trading business and settled down in Mississauga, Canada, to set up a mortgage business.
Today, the Kothari Group of Companies is one of the biggest mortgage lenders in the private sector in Canada and it is a remarkable distinction for a first-generation immigrant to build such a business in one of the largest economies of the world. It wasn’t till Norton had spent a good nine years in Canada that he could begin to focus more on the mortgage business in 1997 following his decision to settle down in Canada for good. “As our business grew, we, later on, got into the construction business as well and have completed quite a few projects in building hotels which we also manage now”, he says.
The Kothari Group has recently received the Hyatt’s 2021 Select Service Developer of the Year award, which recognises construction quality, attention to detail and excellence in operating, for its Hyatt House Winnipeg-South/Outlet Collection project.
Always eager to contribute
When it comes to giving back to society, Norton has shown more than once that his desire to give to society was never to end. He began his journey with a donation towards the construction of a Hindu temple in Malaysia that one of his friends had undertaken to build. Soon after settling down in Mississauga, he joined the Trillium Health Partners Foundation as a continuous contributor and now, a member of the Board of Directors of Trillium Health Partners Foundation. He had set up the Kothari Family Foundation 15 years ago to channelise his philanthropic contributions in his adopted country, Canada, and elsewhere.
His next initiative was the Kothari Innovation Fund, which is partly funding research in replacement of aortic valve by non-evasive technology and standardisation of cataract surgery among seniors. Norton made another significant contribution towards the setting up of the Canadian Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg and still remains the sole Indo-Canadian entrepreneur to contribute in this project. During the mayhem caused by COVID in India, Norton raised funds and personally contributed to sending ventilators and oxygen plants to several hospitals across the country in May 2021.
Norton is an active member of the Canada India Foundation which is involved in several social initiatives in both countries. He had reached out to his BITS alumni batchmates to establish a scholarship fund for deserving but needy students at BITS, Pilani.
Norton got married to Sayar in 1967 and they have three sons, Vikas, Vishal and Anupam. Vikas has returned to India and has set up a business in Jaipur. Vishal runs a software business in Toronto and Anupam manages the mortgage business that Norton had started in Mississauga. All three of them are happily married and have children who are all free-thinking and kind-hearted giving individuals. However, they are also very close to each other like any well-knit Indian families.