Peter Ruis, the CEO of Canadian book retailer Indigo, resigned abruptly on Thursday. This announcement came through a press release issued by the company on Thursday morning, stating that Ruis’s resignation was effective immediately.
The company expressed its gratitude for Ruis’s contributions and wished him success in his future endeavors. Additionally, it was mentioned in the release that Peter Ruis has agreed to serve as a consultant for Indigo over the next two months to facilitate a seamless transition in leadership.
Peter Ruis had previously served as the company’s president for several years before being appointed CEO in August of the previous year. This transition was part of a larger plan that saw the company’s founder and longtime CEO, Heather Reisman, taking on a board-level position as the company’s chair.
However, these plans appeared to unravel over the summer. In June, Andrea Limbardi, the company’s chief customer and digital officer, left Indigo abruptly to join the fashion retailer Reitmans. Simultaneously, half of the company’s board of directors resigned, with one board member, Chika Stacy Oriuwa, citing a loss of confidence in board leadership and mistreatment as reasons for her resignation.
At the same time, Heather Reisman announced her intention to step down from all roles at the company she had founded, with the transition scheduled for this month. The departure of the CEO and president in such a short span raises questions about the company’s succession plans. In the short term, the company announced that Craig Loudon, the chief financial officer, and Damien Liddle, the general counsel, would work closely with the board to provide day-to-day guidance.
Richard Powers, an associate professor at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, characterized the flurry of changes and the company’s 90 percent stock price decline over the past five years as signs of a crisis. He questioned the company’s preparedness for Ruis’s departure and its ability to navigate the challenges ahead.
The circumstances surrounding Ruis’s departure remain unclear, while earlier this year, Indigo faced a significant cyberattack that disrupted its online operations and in-store sales for an extended period.
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