Geoff Norbury was at the height of his career during high-tech heyday.

As the director of global marketing with Mitel Corp., he regularly traveled to all four corners of the globe: three weeks in Singapore, one in Japan, home for a change of clothes before jumping "over the pond" to the U.K. – all of this via Australia.

But in 2002, Mr. Norbury's family was hit with a "double-whammy." He was let go and his wife lost her job at Nortel Networks a month later. Soon after, Mr. Norbury's wife was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and couldn't return to the workforce.

Two cars soon became one, vacations were scaled back and the Norbury's had to rethink their ambitious retirement plans. The former Mitel executive, who was in his mid-40s at the time, found himself at a crossroad.

"I was scared and apprehensive. I had to ask myself, 'Do I want to stay in high tech?' Working at Mitel was all I knew."

Mr. Norbury joined the company as a marketing specialist in 1979 after finishing the industrial marketing and communications program at the U.K.'s Blackpool Collegiate. He rose through the marketing and communications ranks, working closely with the company's founders, Terry Matthews and Michael Copeland.

"It was an incredible journey," he recalled. "I had the opportunity to learn from the best."

However, when the executive's job was "put on the dartboard," he also felt a sense of relief. His final months at Mitel were incredibly stressful as paranoia over job cuts distracted everyone at the company. Any meeting called by management was believed to mean only one thing: somebody's job was on the chopping block.

When Mr. Norbury's job was cut, he took a few months off to figure things out. His family noticed he was more relaxed. He became increasingly happy and more in tune with himself.

Little did the former Mitel executive know he was about to "do a 180" and leave his high-tech career behind.

NEW CHALLENGE

Mr. Norbury first heard of Newgate 180 while chatting with company staff at Local Heroes Bar & Grill, a regular hangout for high-tech types on the fringe of Kanata's technology park.

Mr. Norbury soon discovered that Newgate's philosophy was close to his own. Yet, the company didn't have anything to do with telecom. In fact, Newgate 180 comprised a picturesque Victorian home in Merrickville that acted as a retreat and counselling centre for people with drug and alcohol abuse problems and gambling addictions.

Customers stay at the centre for a month, benefiting from professional counselling as well as support from their peers. They then enter a five-month relapse prevention program that helps them reintegrate into their workplace and family life.

Coincidentally, the centre needed to raise its profile among target customers. It turned out to be the perfect fit. Mr. Norbury joined on as Newgate's director of business development.

"What really established my decision was that I could relate to my early days at Mitel, being surrounded by people who are ethical, genuine and down-to-earth. Through my knowledge and expertise that I garnered through my career at Mitel, I felt I could really help these people."

To Mr. Norbury's surprise and delight, he found many positive parallels between Mitel and Newgate.

"As I became more involved, I understood that during all the meetings on growth strategy and the company's products and services, their sense of purpose never wavered. It was always about the human factor and the client who walks in the door."

During Mr. Norbury's "impressionable" years at Mitel, he recalled hearing something from Terry Matthews that mirrored these business values.

"It begins and ends with the customer," Mr. Matthews said at the time. "And along the way you get to look after your employees and give them a better life."

It's true that Mr. Norbury now makes only one-third of the salary he used to earn at Mitel. It's also true that his scope of travel is limited to car trips in Ontario, Quebec, and parts of northern New York instead of airplane jaunts to the Far East. He also faces a one-hour commute into work versus the 10 minutes it used to take him to get to Mitel.

But all of these things don't seem to faze him.

"Any sacrifices I thought I was making in terms of money or otherwise, I haven't noticed (them) because I'm having such a good time."

He also has the added benefit of being able to relate to Newgate's customers and their families in a very personal way.

"My father was an alcoholic. We grew up in an alcoholic household. This gives me a strong sense of purpose in terms of my personal commitment. I know what some of these family members have gone through and I know what (our customers) are going through. I also know that if my dad knew about Newgate a few years ago, he would probably have been alive today."

Clearly, Mr. Norbury has sunk his teeth into what some would say is the high-tech world's polar opposite. There are no semiconductor, software or telecom clusters in Merrickville.

Instead, Mr. Norbury focuses on promoting Newgate's new counselling services that cover life skills, self-esteem, dealing with loss and anger management.

"I was on the fast track to retire. We had shares, we had this and we had that. But then I found something I really enjoy, and I'm in tune with human nature."