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Remembering Chris Kobrak

Remembering Chris Kobrak

chriskobrakChris Kobrak, one of our faculty members, died suddenly on January 9 at his home in Paris. Chris divided his time between Toronto and Paris.

In the 2012-13 academic year, Chris joined us as he Wilson/Currie Chair of Canadian Business and Financial History at Rotman and began teaching as a visiting  professor. He continued to be a professor of finance at ESCP Europe in Paris, France, where he had taught since 1991.

In July 2015, we were pleased when Chris joined the Rotman School as a full professor. During his career, his main areas of teaching included international finance, financial theory, especially corporate governance, and business and financial history. His research concentrated on corporate and financial history, which included how the evolution of capital markets and political risk affected business strategies. His special interest was the interface between history and management, especially how politics and economic events helped shape corporate forms, international investment decisions, and governance structures. Among his degrees, he held a PhD (Business History) from Columbia University in New York, and a post-doctoral Habilitation in Management from the University of Toulouse.

Chris was internationally prominent in business history.  He took the lead in developing the Canadian Business History Association with Mark Bonham.  He was also a popular visiting professor at Rotman and we were excited to have him join us as a full professor. He was scheduled to be teaching this term. 

It is very hard to lose a colleague like this, with so much left to share with us. Our thoughts are with his family and friends,

Tiff Macklem 
Dean
Rotman School of Management