Heather Reisman — Chief Executive Officer
Heather Reisman is the founder and CEO of Indigo Books & Music Inc., Canada's largest book retailer. Ms. Reisman was born in Montreal and educated at McGill University. For the first 16 years of her career she was Managing Director of Paradigm Consulting, the strategy and change management firm she co-founded in 1979. Paradigm was the world's first strategic change consultancy and pioneered many organizational change strategies still in use today.
In 1992, Ms. Reisman left Paradigm to become President of Cott Corporation. During her tenure as President, Cott grew from a Canadian-based regional bottler to the world's largest retailer-branded beverage supplier. Harvard wrote two case studies focusing on the company's growth and development under her leadership.
In 1996, Ms. Reisman launched Indigo Books & Music Inc. Conceived as the booklovers' cultural department store, bringing Indigo to life was the culmination and integration of a life long passion for books and music, and an entire career focused on understanding and building advanced organizations.
Ms. Reisman is a former Governor of McGill University and of the Toronto Stock Exchange. She has served on many North American boards including Magna International, Suncor, and Rogers Communications Inc., and continues to serve on the board of Onex Corporation and Right to Play. She is also a Director and Officer of Mount Sinai Hospital, and a member of the Bilderberg Steering Committee, a geo-political think group.
She is the recipient of several awards including Waterloo Entrepreneur Hall of Fame, University of Waterloo; International Distinguished Entrepreneur Award, University of Manitoba; and the John Molson School of Business Award of Distinction, Concordia University. In June 2006 she was the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Commerce Degree from Ryerson University. Ms. Reisman is the author of numerous articles, and is a frequent public speaker and television guest. Her goal is to build the Indigo/Chapters organization into the most valued retailer in the world for booklovers and their friends. Ms. Reisman is married to Gerald Schwartz, Chair and CEO of Onex Corporation. She has four children and seven grandchildren.
Kay Brekken — Chief Financial Officer
Ms. Brekken joined Indigo in November 2003 as Vice President Finance and was promoted to the CFO role in April 2011. As CFO, Kay is responsible for Indigo’s Finance, Accounting, Internal Audit, Loss Prevention, and IndigoGreen teams. Prior to joining Indigo, she served as CFO and VP of Regional Operations for Medical Consultants Network, a leading national provider of medical judgment services based in Seattle, Washington. Before that, Kay was a Senior Consultant with Deloitte & Touche and a Vice President in Key Bank’s Corporate Banking Division. Kay holds a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Washington and a Bachelors of Business Administration from the University of Minnesota.
Joyce Gray — Group Executive Vice President, Consumer Experience & Print
Joyce Gray joined Indigo in July 2007 and is accountable for retail operations, customer service, store performance, real estate and construction. Having enjoyed a rich career in senior retail management positions with leading US retailers, Joyce brings a passion for customer and employee satisfaction to Indigo. From her roles as Director of Stores to VP of Entertainment with The Walt Disney Company to managing The Gap's North East territory, Joyce has developed tremendous leadership and commitment to delivering impeccable customer-centric operations.
Joyce graduated Cum Laude from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in Merchandising and Business.
Deirdre Horgan — Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer
Deirdre Horgan joined Indigo in 1998 and is responsible for the Company's overall marketing and brand management strategies that drive consumer awareness and brand affinity through all consumer touch points including the Company's retail and online businesses.
In 2003, Deirdre integrated and rebranded the existing loyalty programs of Chapters, Coles and Indigo to create irewards, Canada's ultimate booklover loyalty program. irewards is now one of Canada's largest paid loyalty programs. Deirdre was also instrumental in the creation of the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation, a registered charity, which provides new books and education resources to high-needs Canadian elementary schools to address the literacy crisis in Canada. Since its 2004 inception, Deirdre remains a strong contributor to the future of the Foundation as a Board Director.
Previously, Deirdre worked as a management consultant with The Boston Consulting Group, working on strategic and brand development assignments in the consumer goods and retail industries. Deirdre is an economics graduate with high distinction from the University of Western Ontario.
Ray Camano — Chief General Merchant
Ray Camano joined Indigo in January 2011 and is accountable for the sales and profitability of Gift, Paper, and Lifestyle product. Prior to joining Indigo, Ray was Executive Vice President of Design, Merchandising, Production, and Product Management at A|X Armani Exchange, a division Giorgio Armani SPA. Ray holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hamilton College.
Mike Mortson — Executive Vice President, Supply Chain
Mike Mortson joined Indigo in January 2012 and is responsible for Supply Chain including Inventory Management, the Distribution Centre, Transportation, Master Data, and Business Process Redesign. Prior to joining Indigo Mike was Vice President, Global Aftermarket Operations and Supply Chain Services at Celestica where he spent two decades in various Executive roles in Operations and Supply Chain, including leading Celestica’s breakthrough transformation in Inventory performance. Prior to Celestica Mike worked at IBM.
Mike has an MBA from York University and a BASc, Honors, in Industrial Engineering from the University of Toronto.
Sumit Oberai — Chief Information Officer
Sumit Oberai joined Indigo in April 2006 and is responsible for all Information Technology functions. Prior to Indigo, Sumit was SVP, Engineering at Eloqua, a venture backed marketing automation firm and a consultant for McKinsey & Company where he focused on strategy & operations for technology and telecom clients. Before that, he held various technology leadership roles at Critical Path, DocSpace, and Nortel Networks.
Sumit holds a Masters of Business Administration from INSEAD, a Masters of Computer Engineering from University of Toronto, and a Bachelors of Mathematics & Engineering from Queen's University where he graduated as the Gold Medalist.
Laura Dunne — Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Organizational Development
Laura Dunne joined Indigo in October 2010 and is responsible for the Company’s Human Resources and Organizational Development. Laura joins Indigo after almost a decade at Canadian Tire where she most recently served as SVP Human Resources and sat on the retailer’s Executive Committee. Along with her passion for retail, Laura brings a broad range of experience in all aspects of Human Resources, with particular specialty in compensation, to Indigo. Laura holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto.