"Heather Reisman." are members. Reisman and Schwartz have given at least $5 million toward the design and construction of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. With big box stores booming, Indigo became the go-to place for literary goods, eventually acquiring rival Chapters in 2001 to form the largest book retailer in Canada. Well-known Canadian retailer Heather Reisman recently received a promotion to Officer of the Order of Canada. The family is now worth $3.3 billion and ranks as the 13th richest in the country. The clans empire started with a single radio station in North Bay, Ontario and soon the business advanced to the media, travel, and oil. QC). cause has drawn protests from opponents of Israels military activities in the occupied Palestinian territories. My days are filled between work and family and some special project. The family also has real estate deals just south of the border in Michigan. As well as excelling in her role as CEO and chair of Indigo Books & Music Inc., Reisman is chair of the Board at Kobo Inc. A pioneering Canadian businessman who founded McCain Foods Limited. She moved her consulting firm to Toronto, Designed to help you build your network, because you never know where that next connection takes you. years of million-dollar losses. Thomson Reuters is further expanding its operations in Canada and its new 500,000 sq. Heather Reisman combined two Rosedale properties and extensive construction for this. Philanthropists and business leaders Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman joined University of Toronto President Meric Gertler, Chancellor Rose Patten, Vector Institute President and CEO Garth Gibson and other university and community leaders to break ground on the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre on College Street on Tuesday.. Indigo's Heather Reisman tells us why. screen.colorDepth:screen.pixelDepth))+';u'+escape(document.URL)+ In 2006, Reisman received an honorary doctorate from Ryerson University. At the age of 54, Thomson's family fortune is ranked the 16th richest in the world, worth an estimated $23 billion, according to Forbes Magazine. Mount Sinai Hospital announced in December 2013 that a transformational $15 million gift from Reisman and Schwartz would be used to "reshape emergency medicine" at the facility. Born in Montreal in 1948, Reisman developed a love of reading at an early age. The most accessible and actionable handbook for those looking for concrete steps to begin living more sustainably, from climate activists Laurie David and Heather ReismanAn excellent how-to guide [and] a great read for everyone from the socially conscious family to the most ardent climate activist.Former Vice President Al GoreImagine It! John Molson School of Business Award of Distinction. retrieved April 1, 2012, In 1995, she was invited to become a frontline investor for Borders, the American book retailer, which was planning to enter the Canadian market. Almost every field of endeavour is ripe with opportunity to rethink, reimagine, rebuild and invent, she said. She is currently a Director of Onex Corporation and Mt. Find your friends on Facebook. [30], Reisman was also included in the Women's Executive Network's Top 100 Most Powerful Women. She is the niece of Simon Reisman, She serves on the boards of numerous organizations, including the Sinai Health System in Toronto and Onex Corporation. After Reismans first marriage ended, she switched careers, following her family into business. Reisman was the executive producer of the popular 2014 American documentary Fed Up, which addressed childhood obesity in the United States. Location: Toronto Age: 76 and 69. Designed by WEISS/MANFREDI, one of North America's leading . The family owns Loblaws, Shoppers, Canadas Holt Renfrew and Selfridges, the UK department store. We want to use this blog to share more of our writing with the world. Together with her family, she endowed the Heather Reisman Chair in Perinatal Research at the University of Toronto. Weston is also involved in several charitable pursuits, in particular, Durham Colleges Centre for Food program that teaches students about sustainable agriculture, food production, and food service. an executive before co-founding strategic change consultancy Paradigm Consulting in 1979. The family has made its money in real estate; grocery produce distribution and financial dealings. Reisman was passionate about reading from an early age and used her allowance money at age 11 to join a book-of-the-month club. In 2005, she and her husband Gerald Schwartz founded the HESEG Foundation, which provides scholarships to "lone soldiers", individuals who have served their time in the Israeli military and who do not have immediate family in Israel. At her direction, Indigo in 2001 removed Mein Kampf from its shelves, sparking controversy around the issues of censorship and hate literature. He was an avid hunter and fisherman and a lifelong Minnesota Vikings fan. Heather Reisman - Founder . . Her first name is "Heather" and her . Born in Montreal in 1948, Heather Reisman was raised in a family of businesspeople. Reisman served as CEO of Cott Corp. before founding Indigo in 1996. [10], She drew praise and criticism in October 2001, after announcing that Indigo would not sell Hitler's Mein Kampf in its bookstores. Heather Reisman, founder and CEO of Indigo, says former U.S. president Barack Obama's memoir is at the top of her winter reading recommendation list. Heather M. Reisman serves as Director of the Company. Henry Singer Award, Alberta School of Business, Retailer of the Year, Retail Council of Canada (2011), Canadas Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award, Womens Executive Network (2014), Companion, Canadian Business Hall of Fame (2015), Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Manitoba (2016), Honorary Doctor of Letters, McGill University (2017), Honorary Doctor of Philosophy, Weizmann Institute of Science (2017). She drew praise and criticism in October 2001, after announcing that Indigo would not sell Hitlers Mein Kampf in its bookstores.Adams, James. To launch the chain, she had the financial backing of her husband, Gerry Schwartz, the founder and CEO of Onex Corporation, one of Canadas largest private When Borders was unable to obtain the necessary federal regulatory approval in Canada, Reisman entered big box book retailing on her own founding a company called Indigo Books and Music. 'Fascinating, gruesome, counterintuitive': U of T profs explore bug sex on CBC's The Nature of Things. She is the niece of Simon Reisman, who headed the Canadian delegation that negotiated the 1988 Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement. Emergency Centre. Her estimated earning is $1 million $4 million. 'border="1" width="20" height="20"><\/a>')
. In August 2006, as a result of differing reactions by the two main Canadian political parties to the 2006 Lebanon War, Reisman announced that she and husband Gerry Schwartz would be joining Robert Lantos in withdrawing their longtime support for the Liberal Party of Canada and supporting the Conservative Party of Canada under Stephen Harper. After serving in various leadership positions, Reisman entered big box book retailing on her own with Indigo Books. Not just as a bookseller, but as a retailer in general. Stay connected with whats happening at your alma mater and what your fellow alumni are doing all over the world. In Canada, Reismans support of this In 1982, Schwartz married Heather Reisman, chief executive of Indigo Books and Music. Despite an uncertain investment climate in the last couple years, Gerry Schwartzs Onex Corp. managed to score a number of deals. Reisman was born in 1948 to a Jewish family in Montreal, Quebec and educated at McGill University where she received a Bachelor of Social Work degree. An excellent how-to guide [and] a great read for everyone from the socially conscious family to the most ardent climate activist.Former Vice President Al GoreImagine It! She urged todays graduates to consider taking a human-centred approach to societal advancement. Early life. Indigo grew rapidly after its founding. [3], Reisman is the recipient of honorary doctorates from Ryerson University (2006),[21] Wilfrid Laurier University (2009),[22] Mount Allison University (2010),[23] St. Francis Xavier University (2013),[24] and University of Manitoba (2016)[25] McGill University (2017),[15] Weizmann Institute of Science (2017),[26] and University of Toronto (2021). Brown, Michael. November 22, 2012, 10. They call the changes in these areas lifestyle shifts, and there is a chapter devoted to each one of them in the book. Though she lives a lavish lifestyle, Reisman is dedicated and committed to community work and charitable giving. [16][17], The Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman Foundation donated $5.3 million to St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia in late 2018 to create scholarships, bursaries and increased recruitment of business students. Continue with Recommended Cookies. In 2019, she and her husband, Gerald Schwartz (Hon LLD 2016), donated $100-million to the University of Toronto to create the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus. Heather Maxine Reisman, OC, entrepreneur, business executive (born 28 August 1948 in Montreal, They amassed their fortune in the real estate market. She added home decor, gifts and specialty items, and launched a product design and development studio in New York. In 2011, Reisman decided to sell Indigos majority stake in Kobo to Japanese e-commerce [7] Reisman was executive producer with David on The Social Dilemma in 2020. Rita Felder is an organic farming trailblazer in Canada heres how she took her company global. In the early 1990s, she did a brief stint as head of Cott Corporation, a soft drink company, where she learned she would prefer to sell a product she was passionate about. This will be a two-tower Wherever you live, let us introduce you and help you stay in touch. and the co-founder of Kobo, a top global e-reader maker. '': Will it be you? 1996. Sign Up. . Heather Reisman is the founder, chair, and CEO of Canada's largest book, lifestyle, and specialty kids' retailer, Indigo. McGill University. U of T grads develop Mind . Indigo Books & Music was officially launched in This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Reisman research. Learn about Heather Reisman Net Worth, Biography, Age, Birthday, Height, Early Life, Family, Dating, Partner, Wiki, and Facts. retrieved April 1, 2012. There are plenty of rich and wealthy people living in Toronto. She was backed by the Onex Corporation, one of Canadas largest and most successful conglomerates, and also controlled by her husband Gerry Schwartz, whom she had married some thirteen years earlier in 1982. Reisman has also served as a governor of the Toronto Stock Exchange and of McGill University. All Rights Reserved. End of Results. She then headed Cott Corporation, a bottler of soft drinks, from 1992 to 1994. Log In. Charity, Community Work, and Jewish Causes, German Immigrant Period in the United States, The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women, Copyright 19982023, Jewish Women's Archive. In 1992, she served as president of Cott Beverages, a private label bottler of soft drinks, and also experimented with marketing fresh, ready-to-cook foods through a firm called Now! at the Weizmann Institute of Science. document.write('