Corporate Governance Academic Forum at the University of Toronto

In collaboration with ECGI and the University of Toronto, the Johnston Centre for Corporate Governance Innovation at the Rotman School of Management hosted its annual academic conference, showcasing the latest in corporate governance research by top scholars from around the world.  

The Corporate Governance Academic Forum was held on Friday, 2 October 2026, in Toronto, Ontario. This one‑day conference featured presentations and discussions of selected academic research papers.  A welcome dinner took place on Thursday, 1 October and all attendees were invited to join.


A CAN$1,500 Best Paper Award, sponsored by the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance, was awarded at the conference.

Congratulations to this year's award winners:

🏆 Best Paper Award: Peter Iliev and Michelle Lowry, for “Optional Shareholder Voting”. Presented at the Forum by Michelle Lowry, the paper offers new insights into the voting practices of institutional managers, including differences from mutual funds.

🏅 Best Discussant Award: Scott Yonker, for his commentary on “Family First: CEOs' Private Incentives in Corporate Relocations” by Ran Duchin, Abed El Karim Farroukh, and Denis Sosyura. Scott added thoughtful depth and nuance regarding the role of CEOs’ family considerations in headquarters relocations.

 

📆 Conference details: 
Thursday 1 - Friday 2 October 2026

📍 Conference Location: 
University of Toronto, Ontario

🔗 Registration:
Open to active academics
Closed Thursday, 24 September 2026, at 11:59 pm ET
Attendance fee: CAN$200

🏢 Accommodation:
A preferred hotel rate has been arranged with The Yorkville Royal Sonesta Hotel Toronto, and booking instructions will be included in your registration confirmation email.

Programme committee

Conference Chair - Alexander Dyck (University of Toronto and ECGI)
Conference Leadership - Lisa Luinenburg, Eva Athanasiu (University of Toronto)

Renée Adams (University of Oxford and ECGI) 
Jan Bena (University of British Columbia)
Paul Calluzzo (Queen's University)
Olivier Dessaint (INSEAD)
Craig Doidge (University of Toronto)
B. Espen Eckbo (Dartmouth College and ECGI)
Laura Field (University of Delaware and ECGI)
Andrey Golubov (University of Toronto and ECGI)
Jarrad Harford (University of Washington and ECGI)
Camille Hebert (University of Toronto)
Kai Li (University of British Columbia and ECGI)
Karl Lins (University of Utah)
Nadya Malenko (Boston College and ECGI)
Randall Morck (University of Alberta and ECGI)
Karin Thorburn (Norwegian School of Economics and ECGI)
Poonam Puri (York/ University of Toronto)
Adriana Robertson (University of Chicago and ECGI)
Lukas Roth (University of Alberta and ECGI)
Simone Sepe (University of Toronto and ECGI)
Paolo Volpin (Drexel University and ECGI)
Aida Wahid (University of Toronto)
Michael Weisbach (Ohio State University and ECGI)
Ting Xu (University of Toronto)
Irene Yi (University of Toronto and ECGI)
Luigi Zingales (University of Chicago and ECGI)