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.
As part of the first graduating cohort of McGill’s Master of Management in Analytics (Online) program, Hari Gopalan (MMA’25) is using data to improve healthcare systems at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. Applying insights gained from the program, he’s developed models to optimize exam scheduling and forecast waitlists, driving measurable improvements in patient care. Hari credits the MMA for expanding his technical and problem-solving skills, and for connecting him to a network of analytics professionals across industries.
McGill Desautels Professor Anthony C. Masi was honoured with the Morty Yalovsky Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Academic Leadership at Fall 2025 Convocation. Over his 46-year career, Masi has shaped the University through his leadership as Provost and contributions to digital transformation, faculty development, and teaching innovation. He founded Teaching and Learning Services, modernized McGill’s IT infrastructure, and advanced the University’s research and academic mission.

While experts call for stronger oversight of artificial intelligence (AI) technology development, including clearer legal frameworks, the legal system itself is grappling with AI-related challenges. In recent days, Quebec and several other jurisdictions have issued substantial fines to individuals who submitted court documents containing “hallucinations,” the term for false or invented information generated by AI tools.
Luxembourg is among the richest places in the world. It is a small, landlocked European country, but has carved out a niche as a major financial centre. Yet its public pension system could benefit from adopting a capitalized pension model, according to research by Patrick Augustin and Sebastien Betermier, both Associate Professors of Finance at McGill Desautels. A capitalized pension fund invests the pension contributions of current workers to pay for retiree benefits in the future.
At McGill’s Desautels Faculty of Management, the DataSphere Lab is transforming how companies use data and how students learn.
Launched in 2023, the lab connects organizations eager to make smarter, data-driven decisions with McGill students who apply advanced analytics, machine learning, and AI to real-world challenges.
You can do an MBA in hundreds of cities around the world, but Montreal is among the best, according to Poets & Quants. But what makes the city such a good place to study? It’s Montreal’s unique energy, according to Kai Zhao (MBA’25). “Montreal blends history, culture and an incredible food scene with a vibrant student community,” says Zhao. “It also has a thriving business community that is home to both innovative start-ups and major companies like Bombardier, Desjardins and Ubisoft.”
On The Office, Steve Carrell plays Michael Scott, a boss at a small paper and office supply wholesaler who is frequently delusional, insensitive and annoying—sometimes all at once. Still, there are lessons to be learned from the misadventures. “The Office captures the realities of business operations in an exaggerated yet familiar way,” said Kai Zhao (MBA’15) in an interview with Poets & Quants. “It serves as a reminder that leadership isn’t just about strategy—it’s also about people, communication, and adapting to challenges--sometimes in the most unconventional ways.
