Dani Reiss was 27 when he took over his grandfather’s cold-weather clothing company, Canada Goose, in 2001.

Much like the heirs of Arnault and Murdoch , Reiss assumed leadership of the $1.6 billion business decades ahead of the average worker.

Such “ nepo babies ” or “ nepo CEOs ” are often underestimated when handed top jobs—a sentiment Reiss told Fortune he knows all too well.

“It wasn’t for another good 10 years, until my mid 30’s or so, when I realized that I was a good leader,” he admits.

Having just graduated from the University of Toronto with an English literature and philosophy degree, Reiss wanted a career in writing—far away from the family business, a company called “Snow Goose” that brought in a couple of million dollars per year in revenue.

“The truth is I real

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