Clément Brenot joins McGill to lead new Growth Lab focused on Canada and Québec

20 Oct

The inaugural Director moves from Harvard’s Growth Lab, bringing experience in economic policy, green industrial development and innovation research

Portrait accompanying ETIH coverage of Clément Brenot’s appointment at McGill University’s Max Bell School of Public Policy. — ***Clément Brenot has joined McGill University as inaugural Director of the McGill Growth Lab and Associate Professor (Research).***

Clément Brenot has joined McGill University as the inaugural Director of its Growth Lab, with a remit to develop applied research on economic growth in Canada and Québec. Based at the Max Bell School of Public Policy in Montréal, he also takes up the position of Associate Professor (Research).

Brenot began both roles in October 2026 after more than five years at Harvard’s Growth Lab. His move brings experience working with policymakers into a school that combines public policy research with practical training for current and future policy leaders.

“Our mission is simple: to carry out policy-relevant applied research for stronger, greener and more resilient economic growth, starting with Canada and Québec,” he wrote on LinkedIn.

His research interests span the constraints holding back economic growth, economic diversification, green industrial policy and the implementation of difficult reforms. They also include innovation, AI and robotics, alongside strategies tailored to the needs of particular places.

Maintaining ties with Harvard’s Growth Lab

Brenot said he would continue working closely with former colleagues at Harvard, where the Growth Lab is led by Ricardo Hausmann and works with policymakers on economic growth and development.

“This move comes after five amazing years at Harvard’s Growth Lab, where I learnt so much about the theory and practice of economic policy,” he wrote.

Before Harvard, Brenot spent nearly nine years at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, leading economic research projects in Europe, Turkey and Asia. Earlier work at Boston Consulting Group involved public and private sector clients, mainly in infrastructure and financial services.

At McGill, the Growth Lab sits within a school established in 2017 with support from the Max Bell Foundation. Its Master of Public Policy program welcomed its first students in 2019 and combines academic study with practitioner involvement and experiential learning.

Brenot said he plans to work with colleagues at Max Bell and McGill’s Department of Economics, while connecting with the wider Canadian and Québec research community and with government and business leaders.

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