Robert Fay

Robert (Bob) Fay is the managing director of digital economy at CIGI. The research under his direction assesses and provides policy recommendations for the complex global governance issues arising from digital technologies. He brings to this position extensive experience in macro- and micro-economic research and policy analysis. He is also a member of the 2020–2021 Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) Ad Hoc Strategic Advisory Committee, providing feedback on the priorities the IPC will focus on over the next five years.

Prior to joining CIGI, Bob held several senior roles at the Bank of Canada (BoC), most recently as senior director overseeing work to assess developments and implications arising from the digitization of the Canadian economy. As deputy director of the International Department at the BoC, he assessed global economic developments and their implications for Canada and investigated a wide variety of issues, including those related to the international monetary system and global financial architecture. He has also led the BoC’s Canadian short-term forecasting team and set up and led its first research division related to structural analysis, focusing on labour markets, productivity and exchange rate analysis. Bob was also special assistant to BoC Governor Mark Carney, serving as the governor’s chief of staff. Prior to joining the BoC, Bob was an economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and worked on a range of economic and labour market issues.

Bob holds an M.A. in economics from Queen’s University and an undergraduate degree in applied studies (economics) from the University of Waterloo.