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Dani Reiss was 27 when he took over his grandfather\u2019s cold-weather clothing company, Canada Goose, in 2001.<\/p>\n
Much like the heirs of Arnault<\/a> and Murdoch<\/a>, Reiss assumed leadership of the $1.6 billion business decades ahead of the average worker.<\/p>\n Such \u201cnepo babies\u201d or \u201cnepo CEOs\u201d are often underestimated when handed top jobs\u2014a sentiment Reiss told Fortune<\/em> he knows all too well.<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t for another good 10 years, until my mid 30\u2019s or so, when I realized that I was a good leader,\u201d he admits.<\/p>\n Having just graduated from the University of Toronto with an English literature and philosophy degree, Reiss wanted a career in writing\u2014far away from the family business, a company called \u201cSnow Goose\u201d that brought in a couple of million dollars per year in revenue.<\/p>\n \u201cThe truth is I really, really did not plan to stick around,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI was just doing this as a temporary thing for a year before I was going to go traveling\u2026 I was going to write short stories.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Less than four years later, he was running the company: \u201cMy father (David Reiss) was so happy to just retire and let me give it a shot.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Of course, since then, Canada Goose has exploded from relative obscurity into a billion-dollar brand.<\/p>\n No longer are its $1,200 plus parkas just for Canadians braving the blistering cold\u2014with 68 stores around the world, Canada Goose merch is now being stocked even in sweltering spots like Miami (and soon Australia) and worn as streetwear by celebrities and Gen Zers alike.<\/p>\n But stepping into the company\u2019s top role when he didn\u2019t really want it did little to convince him or others that he was deserving of the job.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOnce I decided to stick around, the people in the company that had started to become more successful self-selected out, and a lot of people that were there in the early days left,\u201d he admits before adding: \u201cTo be clear, there weren\u2019t that many people to begin with, we had four employees at the front office.\u201d<\/p>\n Reiss couldn\u2019t even bring himself to print his shiny new CEO title on paper.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI had two or three business cards,\u201d the now 50-year-old exec remembers. \u201cOne was blank, one said, marketing manager and one said, international sales manager.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t have a card that says CEO and I didn\u2019t have a card like that for many years. I didn\u2019t want one. I just didn\u2019t feel that that was appropriate, actually.\u201d<\/p>\n Once the brand got \u201cbigger and more important,\u201d he felt like he had finally earned that right. <\/p>\n \u201cI was meeting with bankers and people who needed to understand that they were talking to the person who made the decisions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Despite having built Canada Goose into the empire it is today, Reiss doesn\u2019t plan on following tradition and handing the helm to one of his two children\u2014at least, not any time soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n Firstly, he says they\u2019re too young. <\/p>\n But more importantly, the business is a far cry from the scrappy company he joined in the late 90s, with shareholders, a global footprint and much higher expectations.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOur company was tiny and I would say most people were betting against our survival,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t like a child joining a large established corporation, that often happens these days.\u201d<\/p>\n But either way, looking back, his advice to anyone who wants to inherit the throne at their parent\u2019s company is to prove to themselves and others that they deserve that spot first.<\/p>\n \u201cIn hindsight, if hypothetically, I did think I was going stay there [for more than one year] and did want to be the CEO, I think you have to be the hardest working person there,\u201d Reiss reflects.<\/p>\n \u201cI have children, I don\u2019t imagine them in the business. But if they ever were to come into the business, they\u2019d have to be smart enough,\u201d he laughs.<\/p>\n \u201cBut then, assuming you have the intellect, you also have to work harder than anybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nProve you deserve a spot at the table<\/h2>\n
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