
Andrew Ault
BSc, Concentration in Biology, Lakehead University
BA, Concentration in Public Policy, Carleton University
Cert, International Law and Politics, Bader College, Queen's University
MA, Economics, Lakehead University
MBA, Lakehead University
MSc with Thesis, Lakehead University
PhD Candidate ABD, Finance and Strategy, Carleton University
Andrew Ault is a research economist, lecturer, and public sector finance executive, who believes in cross-disciplinary collaboration to achieve excellent stakeholder value for municipal and healthcare organizations. Currently, he heads the finance function, as Director of Finance and City Treasurer, for the City of Elliot Lake, in northern Ontario. He actively serves on the Board of Directors for St. Joseph's General Hospital, which includes a long-term care home and large addictions centre; and Bay Credit Union, headquartered in Thunder Bay. Previously, Andrew led the finance department, as Comptroller, for Maamwesying, the largest Indigenous health services provider in Ontario, which also serves as the only Indigenous-led Ontario Health Team. Prior to these engagements, he worked for OntarioHealth in funding allocation; Northern Policy Institute, a Member of Parliament, the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, and the Ministry of Natural Resources. In terms of corporate governance, he has served on Boards of Directors for public, private and non-profit entities for over 10 years and has worked as a Lecturer for seven years at two universities and college. He actively maintains a consulting practice, as Professional Economist and Partner to a regional consultancy.
Currently Teaching
> Canadian Business in the Global Environment (Applied Research) (Lakehead)
> Governance, Ethics and Indigenous Business (Lakehead)
> Natural Resource Economics (Algoma)
Annually, he organizes a conference showcasing business student research from his courses at Lakehead’s Research and Innovation Week.
Previous Teaching:
> Introduction to Finance I
> International Finance
> Investments
> Microeconomics
> Strategic Management Theory
> Business Policy
> Management Accounting
> Financial Accounting
> Healthcare Finance
Andrew's core research agenda lies in empirical corporate finance, governance, and financial econometrics, principally investigating how ownership structures, concentration and entrenchment shape informational efficiency, innovation diffusion, and capital allocation. Using blockchain ecosystems as laboratories given their loose regulation and transparent data not typically possible, he investigates theoretical presence and boundaries of institutional informational advantage and effects of concentrated ownership on innovation.
His applied agenda aims to contribute meaningfully towards development of financial econometric frameworks and models that will better allocate capital in high uncertainty, long-development timeline sectors, such as, bioscience, mining and forestry. In bioscience, this includes pharmacoeconomic evaluation of novel precision medicines, and financial incentives that shape commercialization and rent-seeking behavior in the health system. In mining and forestry, his work is centered on improving commodity price forecasting, value-added economic assessment, and mine project evaluation.
When not teaching or working, Andrew enjoys Marathon Running, Cross-Country Skate Skiing, and Downhill Skiing as well as networking with students.
