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Quick answers
What is Heather Reisman's role at Indigo today?
She is Indigo's founder and chief executive officer. Indigo's own Management page describes her as "the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Indigo" and lists no other CEO (Indigo Management page, checked 2026-09-21). She had stepped back from the CEO job and retired from the board in 2023, then returned as CEO that September after Peter Ruis resigned, with Markus Dohle named board chair (Publishers Weekly, 2023-09-19).
When did she start Indigo?
Reisman began assembling the business in mid-1996 and the company was incorporated in 1997 as Indigo Books Music & More. The first store opened in Burlington, Ontario on September 4, 1997 (Encyclopedia.com company history of Indigo Books & Music Inc., checked 2026-09-21). She bought out her main competitor, Chapters, in 2001 (Government of Canada "Women of Impact" trailblazer profile, checked 2026-09-21).
Is Indigo still a public company?
No. Trilogy Retail Holdings Inc. and Trilogy Investments L.P. — entities controlled by Gerald W. Schwartz, Reisman's spouse — acquired the shares they did not already own and completed the take-private on May 31, 2024, after which Indigo was delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange (Torys LLP transaction summary, checked 2026-09-21).
What has she been speaking about recently?
Literacy policy. In a February 2026 podcast interview she discussed her Build Canada policy memo on Canadian literacy, arguing the problem carries a roughly $60 billion cost and making the case for phonics instruction and limits on screen time (Hub Podcasts, episode published 2026-02-09).