Business / Why Reetu Gupta Newly-Appointed Chairwoman of The Gupta Group, Wants Women To Believe In Their Wins

Why Reetu Gupta Newly-Appointed Chairwoman of The Gupta Group, Wants Women To Believe In Their Wins

Business May 18, 2022

by Hina P. Ansari

Reetu Gupta the newly appointed Chairwoman of The Gupta Group is one of the very few women in such a position in Canada. Breaking barriers in that respect, she also holds the position of Ambassadress of this family company which has made significant strides in real estate development, venture capital, hospitality and mining with over $1 billion CAD in assets. The two-time recipient of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women and most recently the recipient of Ascend Canada Executive of the Year award for 2022, Reetu shared with us her plans for her company, why she feels that “future is female” should rather be “future is now”, and the importance for women to believe in their wins.

Hina P. Ansari: Congrats Reetu on this historic position. Tell me about your reaction when you first learned of it.

Reetu Gupta: I was honoured, humbled and ecstatic!

HPA: Tell me about The Gupta Group

RG: I created and launched the The Gupta Group in 2012, with the vision being two-fold. One, we had our company name as Easton’s Group of Hotels for many years. I felt now it was time to create a company with our family name, show the world we are proud Indians! Two, I wanted to create a vehicle to diversify our company assets.

HPA: You have been involved with your family company for many years. Previously, as the CEO. One of your many benchmarks is expanding The Gupta Group into high-rise residential development. Tell me about that decision to expand into this highly coveted market.

RG: For me personally, hotels are a home away from home. It is a temporary home — for some, one night; for others, one month. The transition into residential condos seemed like a natural fit — from temporary homes to permanent homes! It just made sense. It also made sense as we already had economies of scale with construction. I also love a challenge!

HPA: You also expanded The Gupta Group into the mining industry. How did you reach that decision to expand in that direction, as mining is also becoming a highly valued asset?

RG: I have been interested in mining and minerals for many years. You know how sometimes an idea will just stick in your mind? That is how it felt with mining — there seemed to be opportunities that we could capitalize on. Canada also has one of the largest mining industries in the world.

HPA: Tell me about the inspiration and guidance that you have received from your father Dr. Steve Gupta, also the founder of The Gupta Group.

RG: I have worked with my father for many decades and have been going to the office since I could walk, accompanying him on construction sites as a toddler! I have learned so much over the years, and I continue to learn. He gave me great advice once about reputation that always stuck with me. He said conduct business in a way that is honest and ethical — that’s how he created a positive reputation for the company. He would always say that if you have a bad reputation, it will have a very negative impact on your business. Reputation is everything.

HPA: Was there a piece of advice that you have received (not from your father, just in general), that you wish you hadn’t listened to.

RG: I am a Capricorn — if I get advice that I don’t believe I should take, I don’t take it!

HPA: Having a South Asian woman to hold this high level of position is a rarity. What do you hope you can accomplish in terms of female representation in this level of executive office?

RG: They say “the future is female”, I say “the future is now”. On the S&P, only 6% of CEOs are female! This number is abysmal and needs to change. The more of us that are out there shows the world that we women can do anything! When I see women like Kamala Harris and Anita Anand, it inspires me too. I feel like if they can do it, then so can I!

Why Reetu Gupta Newly-Appointed Chairwoman of The Gupta Group, Wants Women To Believe In Their Wins: The Gupta Group. Photo Credit: The Gupta Group

HPA: What are you plans when it comes to your strategic and philanthropic initiatives? And speaking of philanthropy, there’s The Gupta Family Foundation. Tell me about that as well.

RG: During the pandemic, I saw that most foundations scaled back or stopped their funding. This broke my heart. At a time when the world needs help, why stop? I decided to re-launch my family’s foundation, The Gupta Family Foundation, with a focus on education and women empowerment. Since our launch in 2020, we have funded 400 Tablets for rural schools in Jamaica, so children could access education while schooling from home due to COVID. We also sent 300 oxygen concentrators to India for care centres in Punjab. More recently, we have launched solar powered schools in Uganda as well as a holistic funding program for female entrepreneurs in Egypt.

HPA: What are your current real estate projects underway?

RG: We will be opening the first Canopy by Hilton in Canada this Fall! It is very exciting and in the heart of Rosedale! We will also be building a Curio by Hilton, another first for Canada, marking the last remaining heritage building to be repurposed in Toronto’s historic Distillery District … and much more!

Why Reetu Gupta Newly-Appointed Chairwoman of The Gupta Group, Wants Women To Believe In Their Wins: The Canopy by Hilton. Photo Credit: The Gupta Group — **Why Reetu Gupta Newly-Appointed Chairwoman of The Gupta Group, Wants Women To Believe In Their Wins: Canopy by Hilton.** Photo Credit: The Gupta Group

Why Reetu Gupta Newly-Appointed Chairwoman of The Gupta Group, Wants Women To Believe In Their Wins: Curio by Hilton. Photo Credit: The Gupta Group — **Why Reetu Gupta Newly-Appointed Chairwoman of The Gupta Group, Wants Women To Believe In Their Wins: Curio by Hilton.** Photo Credit: The Gupta Group

HPA: The Canadian business world is making a comeback from the past two years. The Bank of Canada is looking at a few interest rates hike to cool the rate of inflation. As someone in the business, tell me your projections when it comes to the stability of Canadian commercial and residential real estate.

RG: Every industry and economy has ebbs and flows. As we come out of this pandemic, Canada as a whole will be facing a deficit and this will impact us. I do feel that residential real estate will remain stable, and although we have seen prices creep up, we have yet to reach pricing that is close to Manhattan levels. We are in good shape if we can hit the right prices that won’t cause a bubble.

HPA: What advice would you give to women who are also climbing the ladder and looking to make a mark in their own way, whether it’s as an entrepreneur or in the corporate world?

RG: First and foremost, believe in yourself. The one thing I feel we all do as humans, is talk ourselves out of a situation. Maybe you play out a difficult conversation in your head, did you win this conversation, or did it leave you frustrated? Let’s instead speak to ourselves with love and courage. That is the first step, believe in yourself, and envision yourself in the position or job you dream of. Once you can tell yourself, you deserve it and you will achieve it, the universe makes the path for you!

HPA: When it comes to women, we are notoriously known for not touting our own successes without apologies. Tell me why is it important for women to believe in their own wins?

RG: There are a few things that can lead to success! As women, we do tend to not only doubt ourselves but blame ourselves for everything, so one key element of success is believing that we are deserving.

Tell yourself that you deserve success and happiness, the kind of happiness you dream of. YOU DESERVE IT. The second step, once you can tell yourself this every day, is believing that you will achieve your goals. For me, the most important ingredient is faith. Having faith in God, the universe, or whichever higher power you believe in will guide you and give you power.

Main Image Photo Credit: The Gupta Group

Hina P. Ansari

Author

Hina P. Ansari is a graduate from The University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario). Since then she has carved a successful career in Canada's national fashion-publishing world as the Entertainment/Photo Editor at FLARE Magazine, Canada's national fashion magazine. She was the first South Asian in...

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