The
She fills the void left by the abrupt resignation of
"There is a clear path for Indigo to regain its momentum," Reisman said in a statement Monday.
"I love this company and its mission. Even more, I care deeply about our people, who have given so much to build this incredible company over more than two and a half decades. I know that together we will return Indigo to growth and profitability."
Reisman had served as chief executive until last year, when Ruis, a retail executive with experience at
Reisman retired from the Indigo board last month. As part of her return to the company, she was also reappointed to the board.
The move comes amid a flurry of changes to Indigo's leadership ranks and as the company contends with an inflationary retail environment and the continued fallout from a cyberattack that downed some of its operations earlier this year.
The return of a departed leader — a concept known as "the boomerang CEO" — is uncommon, but in Indigo's case, is likely stemming from the company's need for a steady, experienced leader amid change, said
"The founder comes back to stabilize things and there are considerable reasons for this because founders know where the bodies are buried," he said.
"They know exactly how to manage."
Reisman was likely also chosen because it's not easy to find a chief executive under such short notice and in "a highly distressed industry," where investors and the public are already wondering about the company's leadership turnover.
"It almost looks like musical chairs," Leblanc said.
"What investors want to see is a smooth transition, not a second resignation in six months or so," he said. "So now this is creating a third round of raised eyebrows."
In addition to Reisman's return, Indigo announced chief financial officer
Before Reisman's retirement as executive chair and a director in August, four of Indigo's 10 directors left the board, with Dr. Chika Stacy Oriuwa attributing her resignation to a "loss of confidence in board leadership" and "mistreatment."
Indigo also announced Monday the appointment of
Naughton is a former chief people officer at
The changes leave plenty of work for Reisman to tackle immediately, Leblanc said.
"The task for
"That could include cuts, it could include making changes that are less focused on books and more focused on home goods, so hopefully this reset is what is needed and everybody will play nicely together."
Indigo shares soared almost 26 per cent Monday, up
This report by The Canadian Press was first published
Companies in this story: (TSX:IDG)
© 2023 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved., source