P. Michael Maher

Strategy & Global Management

After completing close to 30 years in three of Canada's leading business schools and an unprecedented 23 years as Dean, Peter Michael Maher ("Mike" to friends and colleagues) began his career under the tutelage of his innovative and entrepreneurial parents and grandparents in the family business in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, where he was introduced to everything from insurance to construction and politics to civic affairs. His professional education began at the University of Saskatchewan where he earned his degree in engineering in 1962, after which he went on to earn an MBA at the University of Western Ontario in 1965 and a PhD at Northwestern University in 1970 focusing on strategic and general management with a strong focus on the management of technology, research and development. Mike has a solid grounding in science, technology and management. Early in his career, he worked as a development engineer for DuPont of Canada from 1962, moving on to become a New Venture Analyst for DuPont from 1965 to 1967. From 1968 to 1970, he worked as a research engineer in the department of Industrial Engineering and Management Science at Northwestern University. Then he moved to the University of Alberta's Faculty of Business as Professor and Research Coordinator. In 1976, Mike was invited to become Dean of the College of Commerce at his alma mater, the University of Saskatchewan. In 1981, he took up the position of Dean and Professor of the Faculty of Management (now the Haskayne School of Business) at the University of Calgary, which he held until June 30, 1999. He continues to hold the position of Professor. This solid background of experience has been enriched by appointments to corporate boards. He currently serves on Freehold Royalty Trust and Well Point Systems Inc., Previous Board appointments included Nicer Canada Corp., Learning Dividends Inc., Pelorus Navigation Systems Inc., (Chair), Synergy Partners Inc. (Chair), Banff School of Advanced Management (Chair), Canadian Petroleum Institute, Pratt and Whitney Canada, Calgary Airport Authority, Computalog Inc, Westronics Inc, Nascor Corporation, Technica Resources, Nu-West Group, National Research Council of Canada, SED Systems and Newberg Energy. Mike has contributed too many public sector boards. He currently serves on the Theatre Calgary Foundation, CNIB (Alberta and NWT), The Calgary Board of Education Foundation and the Governance Committee of the Calgary Foundation. Earlier appointments included Bethany Care Society, Calgary Police Commission, Transportation Project Office Management Committee (City of Calgary), Theatre Calgary, Alberta Economic Development Authority, Calgary Economic Development Authority, Salvation Army Cabinet, Motive Action, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Calgary Chamber of Commerce, Saskatoon Board of Trade and INTERMAN (joint International Labour Organization/United Nations Development Program). Others included United Way Cabinet, CNIB White Cane Foundation, and Big Sisters and Big Brothers Society (BS&BB). He has also served as founding Chair of the Canadian Consortium of Management Schools, as Chair of the Canadian Federation of Business School Deans and on selection panels for chairs in the management of technology for SSHRC and NSERC. International leadership has also been a focus of Mike's activities starting with the introduction of a strong international component in the curriculum of the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary. He also initiated projects in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, South East Asia and South America. These range in focus from business development through to infrastructure development and capacity building, as well as academic and business exchanges. He also has a long and fruitful relationship with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT). He has worked on projects in at least twenty countries and has been responsible for the management of projects in as many as forty countries. Dr. Maher has made a large commitment to evaluating and assessing business, government and academic initiatives. Examples include serving on the re-accreditation committee of the AACSB and as a reviewer of schools in Canada and the United States. He has also served as an advisor to two federal cabinet ministers. At the international level, assessments and reviews have been done on an ongoing basis for CIDA, DFAIT and the World Bank over at least the past twenty years. Mike was appointed by the Provincial Treasurer for the Province of Alberta to serve as one of two private-sector people to select, develop and structure a Board of Directors for the Alberta Treasury Branch, a large Alberta financial institution. The City of Calgary chose Mike as an independent evaluation for the Selection of a consortium to manage the City's proposed one billion dollar expansion to its transportation infrastructure. Similarly, Mike was appointed by the Calgary Health Region to chair selection panels for architects and construction managers for a new Children's Hospital. As a successful contributor to corporate Canada, Mike's emphasis has been on building, enhancing and/or restructuring relationships within and among business, academic and government organizations. Part of this process has involved the resolution of significant issues within extremely complex environments. Examples include serving as the Court-appointed Chair for the meetings of shareholders and creditors of Northland Bank and chairing key committees of organizations, such as the Nu-West Group of Companies during their restructuring. He played a key role on the initial Calgary airport privatization task force and acted as founding Chair of their Business Development Committee. Symbolic of Dr. Maher's unique ability to bring together public and private interests is the building of the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary. During a period where public funding has become more and more restricted, he persuaded local, national and international corporations, small and large, to take on increasingly more responsibility for the financial and intellectual support of the School. The result has been significant private sector funding which, coupled with public funding, has enabled the School to build a new home, to expand or develop new programmes to include at the B.Com, MBA, Ph.D. and executive levels to virtually triple its student numbers and to launch strategic programme initiatives in insurance, new venture development and tourism, to name just a few. All of this has been accomplished with the active co-operation of senior members of the Calgary business community and beyond who have given both time and money to build a business school that serves the interests of the business community, as well as the students and faculty. While many people have been involved in this effort, most would consider Dr. Maher's innovative skill and energy to be the key component in the School's success. In recognition of this achievement, in 1997 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from St. Mary's University in Halifax. In 2001, Dr. Maher received a Distinguished Service Award from the Institute of Chartered Accountants and similar recognition by CNIB and BS&BB for work with them. Recent Journal Articles P. Michael Maher, S.L. Huff and Malcolm C. Munro, "Information Technology and the Board of Directors: Is There an IT Attention Deficit?" MIS Quarterly Executive, V. 15, No 2, June 2006. P. Michael Maher, S.L. Huff and Malcolm C. Munro, "Information Technology and the Value-Added Board" Ivey Business Journal, to appear P. Michael Maher, S.L. Huff and Malcolm C. Munro, "The IT Attention Deficit: Information Technology and Boards of Directors", Proceedings, I.T. Governance International Conference, Auckland New Zealand, November 2004, pp. 114-120. P. Michael Maher, S.L. Huff and Malcolm C. Munro, "What Boards Don't Do - But Need to do - About IT", Ivey Business Journal, September-October 2004. P. Michael Maher, S.L. Huff and Malcolm C. Munro, "Missing in Action: IT is Seldom a Board Topic", Managing Information Strategies: New Zealand, Vol 7. No. 5, May 2004, pages 24-29. P. Michael Maher and Malcolm Munro, "Capturing Board Potential", Ivey Business Journal, September-October 2003. P. Michael Maher, Malcolm C. Munro, and Flora Stormer, "Beyond Compliance: Dot-Com Boards Have A Different Culture", Ivey Business Journal, March-April 2002. P. Michael Maher, and Malcolm C. Munro, "Keys to Enhancing Corporate Director Performance", Boardroom, Conference Board of Canada, March 2001. P. Michael Maher, Malcolm C. Munro, and Flora Stormer, "Dotcom Boards: Not for the Faint of Heart," Ivey Business Journal, March-April 2001. P. Michael Maher, Malcolm C. Munro and Flora Stormer, "How to Increase Your Chances of a Board Appointment", CMA Management, March 2001 P. Michael Maher, Malcolm C. Munro and Flora Stormer, "Get on Board", University Affairs, March 2001. P. Michael Maher, Malcolm C. Munro and Flora Stormer, "Build a Better Board: Six Keys to Enhancing Corporate Director Performance", Strategy and Leadership, November 2000. P. Michael Maher, Malcolm C. Munro and Flora Stormer, "How to Attract a Board Appointment," CIO-Canada, September 2000, Vol. 8, No. 9. P. Michael Maher and Malcolm C. Munro, "Today's Board and the Academic Option", Ivey Business Journal, Vol. 64, No. 6, July/August 2000, pp. 8-11.