The First Annual Corporate Governance Academic Forum at the University of Toronto

Call for Papers

In collaboration with ECGI and The University of Toronto, The Johnston Centre for Corporate Governance Innovation at The Rotman School of Management will be hosting its first annual academic conference showcasing the latest in corporate governance research by top academics from around the world. The First Annual Corporate Governance Academic Forum will take place on Friday, 3 October 2025 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

We welcome submissions from all disciplines in any area related to corporate governance including topics such as (but not restricted to): Boards of directors, executive compensation and incentives, mergers, ownership structure, shareholder activism, ESG and sustainability governance, governance of new technologies, political influences on governance.

There is a best paper award of $1,000 sponsored by The Johnston Centre for Corporate Governance Innovation.

Submission Guidelines:

Authors are invited to submit full papers by 30 June 2025.

Papers should be submitted using the following guidelines. Failure to comply with these guidelines may disqualify a paper:

• Papers must not have been accepted for publication at the time of submission
• Papers must be submitted with a cover page that includes the paper title, full name and affiliation of author(s), and a 100-250 word abstract
• If selected for the award or as a finalist, it is required that one of the paper’s authors be available to present the paper in-person at the Forum on 3 October 2025 in Toronto.
• Please note that the selection of the winners/finalists, if any, is at the sole discretion of The Johnston Centre for Corporate Governance Innovation. Submissions will be reviewed by the program committee, made up of a committee of scholars (for more information, see below)
• Accepted papers may be profiled in the Rotman Management Magazine and/or on the Johnston Centre website.

Key Dates:

• Submission Deadline: 30 June 2025.
• Notification of Paper Acceptance: 31 July 2025.
• Program Agenda Confirmed:  15 August 2025.
• Conference Date: 3 October 2025.

Submission Process:

• There is a non-refundable submission fee of $100 per paper. Please go to <link to eventbrite page in development> to make your payment.
• After paying the submission fee, please submit your paper to: johnstoncentre@rotman.utoronto.ca
• For inquiries about the conference and/paper submissions, please contact: johnstoncentre@rotman.utoronto.ca

Program Committee:

Conference Chair - Alexander Dyck (University of Toronto and ECGI)
Conference Leadership - Lisa Luinenburg, Eva Athanasiu (University of Toronto) 

Jan Bena (University of British Columbia)
Paul Culluzzo (Queens University)
Olivier Dessaint (INSEAD)
Craig Doidge (University of Toronto)
B. Espen Eckbo (Dartmouth College and ECGI)
Nickolay Ganthchev (University of Warwick and ECGI)
Andrey Golubov (University of Toronto and ECGI)
Jarrad Harford (University of Washington and ECGI)
Karl Lins (University of Utah)
Nadya Malenko (Boston College and ECGI)
Randall Morck (University of Alberta and ECGI)
Karin Thorburn (Norwegian School of Economics and ECGI)
Poonam Puri (York University / University of Toronto)
Adriana Robertson (University of Chicago and ECGI) 
Lukas Roth (University of Alberta and ECGI) 
Simone Sepe (University of Toronto and ECGI)
Paolo Volpin (Drexel University and ECGI)
Aida Wahid (University of Toronto)
Michael Weisbach (Ohio State University)
Irene Yi (University of Toronto and ECGI)
Luigi Zingales (University of Chicago and ECGI)