Patiala woman among leading ladies of Canada’s business world

Indo-Canadian entrepreneur Reetu Gupta, whose father Steve Gupta left Patiala for Toronto in the early 1970s and went on to build the biggest Indianowned hospitality business in Canada, has been honoured with Canada’s `Top 100 Most Powerful Women’ award for 2019.
Reetu, who is the president and CEO of the family-run Easton’s Group of Hotels, says, “It feels great to be included in the list by Women’s Executive Network (WXN).’’ Reetu, 35, believes in using her voice and platform to stand up for all women ensuring their voices are heard.
Easton’s Group runs 17 hotels in Ontario and Quebec. “Five more are under construction, including two in downtown Toronto, one in Mississauga and one at Toronto airport. Our group is also building two high-rise condo projects,’’ says Reetu who was also honoured with the Female Entrepreneur of the Year Award by the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce last year.
While her father is the Group’s chairman, Reetu runs the day-today business with her elder sister Reema as the executive director and her brother Suraj as the chief investment officer.
“We may sometimes have differences on some issues… We really work well together,’’ she says.
Father’s her icon
Reetu, who was appointed the president and CEO of the group last year, says, “It is a huge blessing, but it is also a big responsibility to elevate our business to higher levels.’’ An MBA from Toronto’s Schulich School of Business, she says, “I always wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps. When I did my MBA, I focused on family business...’’ She started learning the ropes of the business from her father when she was very young. “I started going with my dad to his business meetings since I was eight.’’ Reetu says she has learnt three things from her father which are the cornerstone of her business philosophy today: to treat everybody with respect especially our elders, business reputation the importance of hard work.
Reetu lists three Cs that guide her: “Courage to believe in yourself, confidence to do what you think is right, and conviction to go ahead with your decisions.’’
Looking at India
The young entrepreneur is hoping to expand the hotels globally, particularly in India and Europe.
She says, “It is one of the emerging superpowers and we have been looking for opportunities there. Our group will explore possibilities in Punjab as well.’’ Her Indian connection runs strong. “At home, my parents spoke Hindi and Punjabi. I also speak Hindi and love Bollywood. “Dil to Pagal Hai” is my favourite movie.’’ She visited her native town Patiala a couple of years ago. “We go to India each year to visit our guruji in Tirupati,’’ says Reetu who does meditation regularly.