Dani Reiss

Dani Reiss CM (born November 7, 1973) is a Canadian businessman. He is president and CEO of Canada Goose Inc..

Dani Reiss

CM
Born (1973-11-07) November 7, 1973
NationalityCanadian
Alma materUniversity of Toronto (BA)
Occupation(s)President and CEO, Canada Goose Inc.
SpouseErica Reiss

Early life

Reiss is the son of Malca (née Tick) and David Reiss.[1][2] His maternal grandfather is Samuel Tick, who in 1957 founded the company that would become Canada Goose.[1][2] When Reiss was in high school, he worked for the family business during the summer months, handling simple tasks.[3][4] In 1997, after receiving a bachelor of arts degree in English literature and philosophy from the University of Toronto, Reiss joined Canada Goose's sales division.[3][5] He worked under his father, who was then the company's CEO, cold-calling prospective customers and shadowing sales managers on their visits to meet with apparel buyers in Italy and Sweden.[3][5] He also suggested that the company change its name from Snow Goose to Canada Goose, which the company did in 2000.[5][6]

Career

In 2001, at the age of 27, Reiss became president and CEO of Canada Goose. To continue manufacturing product in Canada, Reiss had to invest his own capital into the Canada Goose factory, while establishing sewing schools Winnipeg, Toronto, and Montreal. Around that time, when a number of others in the North American apparel industry moved their manufacturing to Asia to increase profit margins, the result was a significant loss to the Canadian apparel-manufacturing infrastructure.[7][8]

Reiss sits on the Board of Directors of Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation.[9]

Reiss is a public speaker, having addressed the Canadian Club of Ottawa, Economic Club of Canada, lectured at the Schulich Business School’s International MBA Program, The Richard Ivey School of Business and Queen's School of Business. Reiss has also spoken to students at TedX Youth Toronto and delivered the keynote address at the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation conference.[10][11]

Philanthropy

Reiss has worked with Polar Bears International (PBI) as a board member, later having served as chairman of the board from 2008 – 2017, and donating $1 million towards the construction of PBI’s new Churchill facility in February 2018.[12][13][14]

Reiss and his team established the Canada Goose Resource Centre Program along with partners First Air and the North West Company in 2009. The Resource Centre Program gives traditional Inuit sewers access to high-quality fabrics, buttons, zippers, and other materials free of charge for them to use in making traditional outerwear and other clothing for their families and other community members. The Resource Centres Program has served many remote and northern communities including Pond Inlet, Cape Dorset, Kuujjuaq, Rankin Inlet, Pangnirtung and Iqaluit.[15] This program allows sewers to continue in their traditional ways of sewing for their community with materials and fabrics they typically would not have access to or could not afford.[15]

Awards and achievements

In 2008, Reiss was named on a list of Canada's Top 40 Under 40.[16]

In November 2011, Reiss was awarded the Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Reiss was admitted into the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Hall of Fame, along with 50 fellow country winners from around the globe at a ceremony in Monaco in June 2012.[17][18]

Reiss was presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by Minister Joe Oliver in May 2012, and in 2013, the Canadian Marketing Association named Reiss marketer of the year.[19]

In 2016, he was named a Member of the Order of Canada for "building an iconic brand that is a model of entrepreneurial success and for his commitment to the preservation of Canada's North, notably as chair of Polar Bears International."[20]

In 2019, Reiss was awarded the uOttawa honorary doctorate for Telfer’s School of Management.[21]

References
  1. Gajo, Patricia (November 18, 2012). "Dani Reiss of Canada Goose". Nuvo. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  2. Forester, Pete (February 13, 2018). "How Canada Goose Went From Outdoors Outfitter to Fashion Force". Esquire. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  3. Debter, Lauren (May 31, 2019). "The Golden Goose: How Dani Reiss Became A Billionaire Turning Canada Goose Into A Luxury Brand Powerhouse". Forbes. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  4. Lopez-Pacheco, Alexandra (February 6, 2012). "Creative spark helps beat the odds". Financial Post. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  5. Lorinc, John (October 17, 2012). "The Golden Goose". Profit Guide. Archived from the original on December 4, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  6. Atkinson, Nathalie (October 22, 2010). "Style: Canada Goose makes its coats for foresters and fashionistas". The National Post. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  7. Heino, Eric (14 September 2012). "IN CONVERSATION: 'Down' town for Dani Reiss". Inside Toronto. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  8. "Canada Goose's global success is built on its made in canada roots". Canadian Business. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  9. "Dani Reiss". Sinai Health. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  10. "Speaker Profile". The Economic Club of Canada. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  11. "SPEAKERS, PERFORMANCE & PRESENTATIONS". Ted. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  12. Thompson, Citizen (2 March 2018). "Canada Goose CEO donates $1 million towards polar bear conservation facility". Thompson Citizen. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  13. "About Us". Polar Bears International About Us. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  14. "Honouring the North". Canada Goose. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  15. "Honouring the North". Canada Goose. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  16. Ediriweera, Himani (20 January 2010). "A down to Earth firm". The Star. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  17. "Ernst & Young names Dani Reiss of Canada Goose Inc. the 2011 Ontario Entrepreneur Of The Year". Ernst and Young. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  18. Berkow, Jameson (24 November 2011). "Dani Reiss of Canada Goose named Canada's Entrepreneur of the Year". Financial Post. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  19. Iain Marlow; Sean Silcoff; Susan Krashinsky (December 10, 2013). "Canada Goose sells a majority stake – with a made-in-Canada guarantee". The Globe and Mail.
  20. "Appointments to the Order of Canada". The Governor General of Canada. 30 June 2016.
  21. "uOttawa announces its spring 2019 Honorary Doctorate recipients". 22 May 2019.
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