Catherine Beaudry, recipient of the Gérard-Parizeau Award

HEC Montréal has awarded the 2026 Gérard-Parizeau Award to Catherine Beaudry, Professor in the Department of Mathematical and Industrial Engineering at Polytechnique Montréal, holder of the Canada Research Chair in Management and Economics of Innovation, and Director of the Partnership for the Organisation of Innovation and New Technologies (4POINT0). 

This prestigious award is presented alternately by HEC Montréal and Université de Montréal. This year it salutes Professor Beaudry’s outstanding contribution to the field of management, economics and innovation. During the official award ceremony at HEC Montréal on October 6, 2026, the winner will deliver a lecture on the following theme: “Propulser l’innovation grâce aux données” [Propelling Innovation Through Data].

About Catherine Beaudry

Catherine Beaudry holds a B.Eng. in Electrical Engineering from Polytechnique Montréal as well as a master's degree and a D.Phil. in Economics from the University of Oxford. Since the beginning of her academic career at Polytechnique Montréal in 2002, she has been actively involved in the advancement of knowledge in her field.

Here are some career highlights that reflect the scope and influence of her research, as well as her scientific leadership:

• To carry out her work, she has obtained substantial funding from a multitude of governmental and private sources around the world.
• In 2018, she created 4POINT0, which brings together 40 professors from Canada, the United States, France, Italy and the United Kingdom, in addition to partners from the public and private sectors. Its groundbreaking text and data mining tool, which measures the economic impact of innovation ecosystems, has resulted in numerous studies and publications as well as a white paper.
• In addition to publishing 65 research articles, 5 books and 22 book chapters as well as 51 research reports, she has also been frequently invited to speak and consulted for her expertise across Quebec, Canada and abroad—working with organizations such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Institut de la statistique du Québec, the Secrétariat du Conseil du trésor, and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.
• She has supervised or co-supervised 52 Master’s students, 25 PhD students, and 14 Postdoctoral researchers.  
• She is affiliated with several major groups and entities, including the Centre for Interuniversity Research and Analysis on Organizations, the Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en opérationnalisation du développement durable, the Centre for Interuniversity Research on Science and Technology, the Institute for Data Valorization, and the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s Strategic Advisory Group on National Research Facilities.
• She has received numerous honors throughout her career, including the Prix Acfas Jacques-Rousseau for multidisciplinarity in 2022 and the Prix d’excellence en recherche et innovation in 2024 from Polytechnique Montréal. In 2021, she became a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences of the Royal Society of Canada, where she currently serves as Secretary.

About the Gérard-Parizeau Fund and Award

The Gérard-Parizeau Fund was created in 2000 and honors the memory of Mr. Gérard Parizeau, a leading figure in the Quebec insurance industry. Through the annual presentation of the Gérard-Parizeau Award, it pays tribute to luminaries in the fields of management, economics and history, by highlighting the value and originality of the thinking and work of researchers, professors or action-oriented individuals.