Michel Patry appointed Professor Emeritus
July 15, 2020
Michel Patry was officially granted the title of Professor Emeritus as a tribute to his outstanding contribution to teaching, research, and the development and renown of HEC Montréal. This honour goes to a retired professor who was in the service of the School for at least 10 years.
“The importance of Michel Patry’s role in the development of HEC Montréal is undeniable not only here at the School, but probably also for all universities both in Quebec and the rest of Canada and across the world,” says Honorary Professor Alain Gosselin, advisor on international program development and a member of the advisory committee on honorary PhDs and professors emeritus.
Better known to everyone as the Director of HEC Montréal, serving three terms with rigour and passion, Michel Patry joined the HEC Montréal faculty in 1983. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of British Columbia, and an MSc and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration (BBA) from HEC Montréal, and was made a Full Professor in 1999.
He is an expert in the economics of organizations and regulation, and held a number of senior administrative positions at the School before becoming its 10th Director, on September 1, 2006. He was the first Director of the PhD in Administration program (1991 to 1995), Director of Research (1995 to 1998), and Assistant Director, Academic Affairs and Strategic Planning (2001 to 2005).
Exceptional and varied contributions
Professor Patry was always greatly appreciated by his students, and directed and helped supervise close to one hundred graduate students in management, economics and information technologies.
In addition to his impressive career as a public manager, his Google Scholar page lists a considerable number of citations (3,658 as at July 1, 2020), a performance that places him in the top 10% of the most-cited scholars at HEC Montréal. He published over 100 research documents of a scientific and professional nature, along with numerous articles that helped share knowledge and simplify complex subjects.
Professor Patry has also served on many boards of directors in Canada and abroad, including those of the Université de Montréal, the Conférence des recteurs et des principaux des universités du Québec (CREPUQ), the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, AACSB International and the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD).
He is also very generous, giving of his time to many philanthropic causes, in particular Centraide, as well as serving as a consultant for many private and public organizations. He was Vice-President, from 1998 to 2001, and President and CEO in 2005 and 2006, of the Centre for Interuniversity Research and Analysis on Organizations (CIRANO).
Three terms at the helm of the School, countless achievements
Under his leadership, HEC Montréal enjoyed the greatest growth in its entire history (number of students, research activities, groups and projects, etc.). It was also named one of the world’s best business schools (top 5 among Canadian universities, top 20 in North America and top 100 in the world).
His achievements include creating several hubs of excellence and institutes, the McGill–HEC Montréal EMBA and the École des dirigeants, and developing a world-class ecosystem supporting entrepreneurship and innovation at HEC Montréal, as well as creating the HEC Montréal Foundation and launching the School’s new downtown building, to open in 2021.
Although he stepped down as HEC Montréal Director on June 1, 2019, this outstanding humanist has no plans to rest on his laurels. Since July 1, 2019 he has continued to make an invaluable contribution to the School as President and CEO of the HEC Montréal Foundation, where he will focus on the campaign to support the construction of the new HEC Montréal building in the downtown business district. This important addition will mark the School’s return to the heart of the business district of the metropolis, and represents a key step in the future growth of HEC Montréal.