Angus Reid is out as executive chairman of Vision Critical.
The official word is that Reid is “retiring” from his position as executive chairman, according to a news release issued June 6.
Reid did not respond to an emailed interview request and was not answering his mobile phone. His receptionist said Friday morning that he was “not here.”
“He’ll get back to you when he’s ready to reply accordingly,” she said.
Reid, 66, co-founded Vision Critical with his son, Andrew, in 2000. The news release said the Reid family would remain the biggest shareholder in the company.
“I am gratified that we have been able to build the company from a startup to what it is now – a shining star of Canada’s technology landscape,” said Reid in the news release. “I have confidence that our recently enhanced management team will take Vision Critical to the next level.”
The news release did not include any quotes from CEO Scott Miller or board chairman Jim Fletcher. It did say that he plans to remain an adviser to Vision Critical and “pursue innovative, non-partisan approaches to public opinion research” via his non-profit Angus Reid Institute.
When contacted on Thursday evening, the company’s vice-president of communications, Shachi Kurl, declined comment and referred queries about Reid’s departure from the company to New York-based public relations manager Jenny Smelyanets.
West Vancouverite Reid established Angus Reid Group in 1979, but sold it to Paris-based Ipsos in 2000. Regina-born, Vancouver-raised Reid received a doctorate in sociology from Carelton University in Ottawa in 1974. He wrote the 1996 book Shakedown: How the New Economy is Changing Our Lives.
In August 2012, Vision Critical received a $20 million investment from OMERS Ventures, an arm of the Ontario municipal employees’ pension fund, for product expansion, which included the Sparq community engagement panels software. So far, the only major municipalities to become customers are Surrey, Vancouver and Burlington, Ont.
In October of 2012, Miller was promoted from COO to CEO to replace co-founder Andrew Reid, now chief product officer. The company moved its headquarters to Granville Square in 2012 and took over space formerly occupied by the Vancouver Sun.
Last January, Toronto-based Difference Capital invested $3.5 million, which was almost a third of a $10.5 million sale of Reid’s shares. There was widespread speculation that the company was preparing to launch an IPO.
