The ACCEPTER le vélo conference brought together researchers and policymakers to discuss the evolving landscape of cycling in Montreal and beyond. The first panel highlighted major progress in cycling infrastructure between 2018 and 2023, showing strong links between high-comfort networks and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Presenters also emphasized that infrastructure alone is not enough—understanding behavioural stages and psychological motivators is essential to encourage more residents to cycle.
Ryan Kellog’s lecture on clean energy subsidies, clean technology policies, and the green transition
What policies can truly accelerate the global shift to clean energy? In a compelling lecture hosted by McGill’s Sustainable Growth Initiative and CIREQ, Professor Ryan Kellogg of the University of Chicago explored this question through the lens of economics, equity, and climate urgency. Speaking to a diverse audience at McGill’s Faculty Club, Kellogg reframed the energy transition as a global justice issue, emphasizing the need for reliable, affordable, and clean energy—especially in rapidly developing regions like India and Sub-Saharan Africa.
A team of McGill Desautels MBA students has won the 2025 Retail Innovation Challenge, earning the $10,000 grand prize for their innovative business solution for Mandy’s Gourmet Salads.
The MBA team, Clara Homsi, Rosemarie Cianci, Sam Eddy, Eric Del Balso, and Maria Jose Amorocho Albornoz, stood out among more than 40 teams from universities across Canada.
When Brittanny Janvier enrolled in the Master of Management program at McGill in 2022, she was the only Indigenous student in her class. Now, Janvier is McGill’s Director of Indigenous Initiatives, and is creating space for Indigenous entrepreneurs on campus. A recent event focused on how Indigenous-led businesses can serve as a powerful vessel for cultural narrative.
Fewer than one in three professionals are seeking a management position, according to recent research by Robert Half, a human resources consulting firm. “The findings speak to an ongoing issue with the talent pool of potential leaders,” says Eric Saine, Executive Director of the McGill Executive Institute. “There is a growing trend of workers not seeking leadership.” For those who want to buck the trend and pursue a leadership role, Saine recommends learning to use AI tools.
When the province of Ontario ran an anti-tariff advertisement that featured voice-over from a 1987 speech by US President Ronald Reagan, it hit a little too close to home for current President Donald Trump. Trump threatened additional tariffs on Canada and demanded the ad campaign end. “If this was a sitcom, we’d be laughing, but it’s not,” says Preetika Joshi, Assistant Professor of Accounting at McGill Desautels.
In the 2025 Major League Baseball playoffs, the Toronto Blue Jays pitching staff has often looked dominant, even against some of the best batters in the world. Sam Greene (BCom’20, MMA’21) has helped them do it. A former varsity baseball player at McGill, Greene started out in baseball research for the Blue Jays and became an Assistant Pitching Coach in 2024. “Sam Greene is a geek, but many of the pitchers on this team are too,” said Chris Bassitt, a Blue Jays pitcher who has excelled as a middle reliever in the playoffs.

The 8th Deloitte MMF Synergy Challenge on October 28 challenged Master of Management in Finance (MMF) students at Desautels on their strategic and financial acumen in the context of a merger case competition.
Reframing Entrepreneurship: McGill Desautels hosts inaugural Conference on Everyday Entrepreneurship
The inaugural 2025 McGill Conference on Everyday Entrepreneurship (MCEE), hosted by the Desautels Faculty of Management, brought together scholars, practitioners, and community leaders to explore entrepreneurship beyond traditional boundaries. Organized by the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Initiative in collaboration with the Sustainable Growth Initiative and EDI, the two-day event spotlighted ventures and founders often overlooked in mainstream research.
When the auto maker Stellantis announced its plan to shift production of the Jeep Compass SUV from Brampton, Ontario to Belvidere, Illinois, the Government of Canada didn’t take the news sitting down. It threatened to sue the multinational company, saying that the shift violated previous agreements between the multinational automotive company and the government, which stipulated the automaker had to maintain its Canadian footprint. “There is a huge amount of taxpayer money that has gone in to this company,” Prof.
Artificial intelligence is still an emerging technology, and we are only in the early stages of its regulation. The European Union is at the forefront of the technology’s regulation, says Simon Blanchette, Lecturer at McGill Desautels. The EU already has an artificial intelligence act, which centers on the level of privacy risk associated with individual use cases. “For example, when AI is used to evaluate loan or job applications, lots of sensitive, private information will be gathered,” Blanchette told CTV News.
Beginning in 2026, Starbucks will be phasing out its mobile order pick-up only locations, abandoning an approach built for speed and efficiency. In an earnings call, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said the pick-up only locations had a transactional feel that lacks warmth and human connection. The move favours ‘stay and savour’ customers over ‘grab-and-go ones’, writes Vivek Astvansh in The Conversation. The move could come at a cost, argues the Associate Professor of Quantitative Marketing and Analytics at McGill Desautels.

Luxembourg’s Finance Minister Gilles Roth visited McGill’s Desautels Faculty of Management to celebrate a milestone partnership and the launch of the McGill Centre for Finance in Luxembourg and the Master of Management in Finance (MMF) in Luxembourg programme.
Some national pension funds operate on a ‘pay as you go’ model, meaning that retiree pensions are primarily funded by current workers. But other national pension plans—including the Canada Pension Plan—operate on a capitalized model, meaning that workers contributions are invested to fund future payouts. Capitalized plans allow for funds to be invested in a wider variety of assets, and can yield much bigger returns, according to research by Patrick Augustin, Associate Professor of Finance at McGill Desautels.
