He is a veteran IT executive and entrepreneur spreading his operations in Canada and the USA. Other than his own incorporation, he has also partnered in the foundation of companies like IPine Networks, Technologie Sanstream, Sparq Systems, TeleAI and CHiL Semiconductor. Every year, local charities surrounding Ottawa benefit from the Cistel Foundation, an initiative he started in 2003.
Nishith’s grandfather, Brij Bhushan Lal Goel, was a civil engineer in Banswara, Rajasthan, in the early years of the 20th century. His father, Satya Narain, followed in his footsteps and became a civil engineer. He was employed with the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department for almost 10 years before shifting his focus to the educational field. Education was always a priority in the Goel household. He moved his family to Ajmer in 1958 where he became the founding principal of Ajmer polytechnic. He went on to become the principal of Jodhpur Polytechnic College in 1962 and the director of Technical Education of Rajasthan in 1974. Nishith’s mother, Krishna Bala, demonstrated great strength in raising and encouraging all her seven children – four boys and three girls – equally. The elderly couple is now settled in Jodhpur. They recently celebrated 75 years of love and the entire family got together in their happiness.
After completing his schooling at Mahesh School in Jodhpur, Nishith finished his B.E. in electronics and telecommunications from Jai Narayan Vyas University, Jodhpur, in 1975. At the age of 22, in 1977, he reached Canada to pursue higher studies. He earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering in 1978 and Ph.D. in systems design engineering in 1983 from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. He commenced his career as a member of scientific staff with the Bell-Northern Research in Ottawa in 1984. In 1988, he moved to Northern Telecom, where he worked till 1995.
Nishith got married to Nita on 7 January 1985. Nita was born to Gayatri and Jawahar Lal Bansal, a retired professor of mathematics at the Rajasthan University, in 1961. They are originally from Agra and now settled in Jaipur. Nita also did BE from Jai Narayan Vyas University. She received a master’s degree in electrical engineering after settling in Canada, and soon after that, she started her own business in the name of Tecsis Corporation in 1994. A year later, she joined Nishith at Cistel, where they still continue to help and guide the current management.
The couple has a lovely family today. They strived to bring up their daughters in a culture that absorbed all the good of both the cultures they lived in – Indian and Canadian. Neha, her husband, Rohit Jindal, an enterprise architect, and their toddler, Suraj Mohan, live in the USA. Shilpa is married to Alexander William Eastman, and both have joined Cistel. They live in Canada with their son, Kieran Nishith.
While talking about his childhood, Nishith recalls his grandfather reciting shlokas from the Bhagavad Geeta and explaining their meaning and how it relates to life, which instilled a sense of understanding in him towards his duties and shaped his future. He also used to read newspapers for his grandfather. During his school days, he was a regular in cricket and participated in NCC for two years. He was a part of the tennis team of his engineering college. He has an interest in folk music and loves reading whenever he gets time. The Goel couple often enjoys walking, watching TV and going to restaurants together.
“Generosity is not something you are born with. It is something like a learned trick,” says Nishith. He is still in touch with his school and college friends and is always ready to help and guide their children in education and career. He has helped several of them to migrate and settle in Canada. He is a devoted and spiritual Hindu who is more inclined towards the philosophy and the value system of Hinduism than the various rituals. Holding memories and people from India close, Nita and he have visited India every year in the last 10 years.
Advancing the IT world
Lauding the environment in Canada, Nishith says, “It has a critical mass of a very skilled workforce available, the environment is good, it is a good living place, a good place to raise a family and a good place for business”. His domains of interest in IT include cloud computing, wireless networks and network security. He has served on the board of directors of several companies: Enablence Technologies (ENA:TSX), Sparq Systems, CHiL Semiconductors, TeleAI and others. He co-founded Indian Professional Association in Ottawa and served as its founding chairman. It evolved into the Indo-Canada Ottawa Business Chamber in 2006 and he served as chair from 2009 to 2010.
Today, Cistel Technology is providing award-winning IT solutions to the private as well as public sector with offices in Atlanta, Ottawa and Toronto. With more than 25 years of success and experience, Cistel is a partner of Microsoft, Cisco and many other product companies. Its diversification, depth and expertise have allowed Cistel to become a trusted IT partner and advisor offering wide-ranging solutions like staffing services, IT managed services, security practice services, management consulting services, Microsoft Practice services and AI services.
“You define kismat (fate) not vice versa,” says Nishith. His resolve is to ensure that his business does well for not only him but also for all his employees. He firmly advocates that money is not the only motivation. For him, greater motivation is the creation of a world where man is selfless, contributing to the welfare and development of society.
Give where you live
Like they say, ‘happiness is contagious’.
Nishith is of the opinion that one cannot be happy if people around are unhappy. He developed a deep sense of social responsibility, instilled in him by his parents, while growing up in India. His desire to give back to society is also supported by his positioning among the most successful business leaders of Ottawa. In India, he took part in a charity that helped in the adoption of a village in Rajasthan.
“There are various phases in life. Initially, you struggle, you study, you work, you grow. It is when you grow that you start thinking of doing something for society. I went through the same. And it’s now an innate desire to continue to do something for society’s upliftment”, says Nishith while exploring ways to serve the community.
Cistel Foundation, since 2003, is financially aiding multiple organisations, including the Ottawa Hospital, the Queensway Carleton Hospital, Elizabeth Bruyere Health Centre, Carleton University and Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. Moreover, Nishith has managed to inculcate the spirit of giving back in his employees, who often donate to the foundation. His passion for giving back and encouraging the Indian community, IT community and anyone he meets is honest and touching.
Nita and Nishith often sponsor charities and fundraisers in various social, cultural and business events in Ottawa. He was the chair of the Centre of Excellence for Power Electronics at Queens University. He has served on the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Foundation and Community Foundation of Ottawa as a board member. He also served as a chair of the Queensway-Carleton Hospital Foundation from 2009 to 2011. Currently, he is serving the Canada India Centre of Excellence at the Carleton University as a member of the board.
“Asking for a donation is not something that comes naturally to me. I can help them understand the importance of donations in the overall development of the society.” To aid his philanthropic activities, Nishith loves to meet new people and develop associations with people and organisations that share common goals. Sharing and staying connected with people gives immense happiness to him. He still remembers the influence of a fellow Ph.D. scholar who helped him a lot during his stay at the University of Waterloo. In return, he asked Nishith to help someone else in need, ensuring that the chain of help is never broken.
For his efforts, Nishith was honoured with the Indo-Canada Ottawa Business Chamber award in 2006 and the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce Technology Achievement Award in 2007 and the City of Ottawa Immigrant Entrepreneur Award in 2015. He received the Order of Ottawa in 2016 in recognition of his community and charitable work. Cistel Technology was recognised as the small business philanthropist of the year in Ottawa in 2011.
“You have to find sufficiency in life,” he says, “where you find it is up to you. I have come to believe that that particular feeling of satisfaction comes from seeing people around you happy and smiling.”