Todd Hirsch

Todd Hirsch received his BA Honors in Economics from the University of Alberta, and an MA in Economics from the University of Calgary. He began his career at the Canada West Foundation as a research assistant, and later as a Senior Research Associate. In 1997, Todd accepted a position in the Government Relations department of the Canadian Pacific Railway. During his time at CPR, he also worked in the Commercial Development group and the Planning and Performance group.

 In 2001, Todd joined the Bank of Canada's research department, and worked in the Calgary regional office as an Economist. Part of his role there was to complete a re-design of the Bank of Canada's commodity price index. He also provided timely briefing notes to the Governor and governing council as to economic developments in the Prairie and North regions.

Most recently, Todd served as the Chief Economist at the Canada West Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan research think-tank. His focus was on public finance, labour market developments, commodity market trends, and macro-economic events in the four western provinces.

Todd joined ATB Financial in May 2007 as Senior Economist where he provides economic information and intelligence to the various lines of business at ATB. He also tracks current developments in Alberta’s and North America's economy and delivers presentations to both internal and external audiences.

As part of his duties, Todd appears regularly as an economic commentator on CBC radio, various TV programs, and in the press. He contributes a monthly column to the Globe & Mail, and writes regularly for Policy Options magazine, Alberta Venture, and other local and national publications. Todd also teaches two economics courses at the University of Calgary, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Calgary Arts Academy.

About ATB Financial

With assets of $20.3 billion, ATB Financial is the largest Alberta-based financial institution, and the eighth largest in Canada. ATB is a leading financial services provider, serving over 600,000 Albertans in 244 communities through 156 branches, 134 agencies, as well as a Customer Contact Centre in Calgary, Alberta.

Presentation (click here to see todd's presentation):
Economy in 2009: Now What?

Given the very volatile economic situation that has rocked the global economy over the past several months, what can we expect in 2009 and beyond?  How will financial systems in the US, Europe and Asia cope with new realities?  Will Canada come through this unscathed?  What about our economy here at home in Alberta?  Todd Hirsch will explore what are likely to be the main economic stories of the year, and how we can all prepare to navigate through what may be a difficult year.