Western Economics Alum - New Governor of the Bank of Canada
Stephen Poloz (MA., 1979; Ph.D. 1982) has been named Governor of the Bank of Canada for a seven-year term, starting June 3, 2013. David Laidley, chair of the Special Committee of the Board of Directors says "Mr. Poloz has significant knowledge of financial markets and monetary policy issues and extensive management experience." Upon graduating from Western, Poloz spent 14 years at the Bank of Canada rising to the ranks of chief of the research department. He then spent five years with Montreal-based BCA Research. In 1999, he joined Export Development Canada (EDC) as its chief economist and is currently EDC president and chief executive officer.
Polozs' Ph.D. thesis supervisor, Michael Parkin, (now Professor Emeritus at Western) claimed that "as a Ph.D. student, he always said his goal was to be the Bank of Canada governor." His doctoral disseration on the challenges for the conduct of monetary policy arising from exchange rates and global shocks was described by Parkin as a "well-thought-out piece of work" which he remembers three decades later. Poloz will succeed Mark Carney who is leaving the Bank on June 1. (Western News)
