Todd Hirsch
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Todd Hirsch

The Modern Economist

For more than 25 years, Todd Hirsch has worked as an economist for such renowned institutes as ATB Financial, the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Canada West Foundation, and the Bank of Canada. With a front row seat to the key issues and trends impacting and transforming the economy, Hirsch delivers dynamic, clear-eyed talks on topics ranging from creativity and adaptability to the future of work. He explores new ways to think about the economy in order to thrive in a permanently uncertain world.

Hirsch is the author of four books. His latest, Spiders in COVID Space: Adapting During and After the Pandemic, captures the inspiring and compelling stories of businesses and not-for-profits that reinvented themselves during the pandemic. For three seasons, he was also the host of the podcast, The Future Of, where he explored what the future might look like for work, communities, art and culture, leadership, and other compelling topics. The podcast won a national award in 2021.

Hirsch has been recognized as one of Alberta’s most influential people. He’s also the recipient of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, the University of Alberta’s Alumni Honour Award, and an honourary degree from Mount Royal University. Hirsch previously taught economics at the University of Calgary and for the Executive Education program at the University of Alberta.

A strong advocate of the arts and culture, Hirsch serves on the board of Calgary’s Glenbow Museum, and previously served on the boards of the Alberta Ballet and the Calgary Arts Academy. In addition, he served on the University of Calgary Board of Governors and is currently a special advisor to the Dean of the Chiu School of Business at Calgary’s Bow Valley College.

Changing the Narrative: New Ways of Thinking About the Economy in 2022

As we enter a new year, a lot has changed — yet a lot remains the same. COVID is still with us, climate change is even more pressing, and global trade remains unsettled.

The economy is transforming, but we need new ways to think about our economy in order to thrive in a permanently uncertain world. What lies ahead? And how will a new narrative help us adjust?

Audiences will gain:

  • A better understanding of “the economy” and how our actions influence the results.
  • New ways to think about government and economic policies, and a challenge to reconsider our expectations.
  • A list of issues that we must address if we are to not only rebuild, reimagine, and evolve our economy but THRIVE!

The Morphing Nature of Work

This presentation will help audiences learn how to thrive in their relationships with work, income, and life.

The nature of work and employment was changing long before COVID, but the pandemic has accelerated the trends.

Audiences will gain:

  • A clearer understanding of how the nature of jobs, tasks, work, and careers is morphing.
  • Factors that are influencing the work world, particularly our emotions and personal connections with it.
  • New ways to better prepare themselves — and their employees — for the changes ahead.

Adapting to Sudden, Unwanted Change

With the challenges bearing down on us, adapting to new realities seems daunting. But what if adapting is easier than we think? Drawing on lesson shared in his book Spiders in Space, Todd Hirsch will share with audiences:

  • Inspiring stories about adaptability and resilience, both in humans and in nature.
  • A better understanding of how sudden, unwanted change is both inevitable, but also manageable when we prepare.
  • A list of traits to develop that will prepare them for inevitable unwanted change in the future.