I specialize in monetary policy, macroeconomics and forecasting. My research involves the development of innovative tools to solve complex real-world economic and financial problems. For example, my work on the usefulness of neural networks and other nonlinear models helped improve our understanding of the links between financial market movements and the economy, while my work with John Galbraith on the use of daily payments card data for macroeconomic monitoring has been described as “pioneering”. My expertise was put to good use during the 2008-09 global financial crisis, where I led a small team of analysts that provided unfiltered policy advice to then Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney. Since 2010 I have used this expertise to help train the next generation of researchers at St. Francis Xavier University (StFX). Most of my Honours students have gone on to pursue graduate degrees at top graduate programs in Canada and abroad. Collectively they have been awarded several national scholarships, University Medals and even a Rhodes Scholarship.Concurrent with my career as a teacher and researcher, I also held several managerial positions. At the Bank of Canada I led teams of up to eight researchers that published several innovative studies. These include, for example, the development of the world’s first Financial Stress Index; creation of empirical tests for the evaluation of probabilistic forecasts; and studies on pricing in mortgage markets. I also spent several years as Chair of the Department of Economics at StFX, a period in which the department experienced tremendous growth in both student enrolment and full-time faculty complement. Today this remains one of the few Economics departments in Canada that can claim that 100% of its courses are taught by tenured or tenure-track faculty.