After more than five years as head of Canada’s  Competition Bureau, John Pecman is joining the DeGroote School of Business as TMX Industry Professor.

Pecman is one of Canada’s foremost experts in business competition, antitrust law, and economics. He stepped down in May as Commissioner of Competition with Competition Bureau Canada, an independent law-enforcement agency designed to ensure Canadian businesses and consumers prosper in a competitive and innovative marketplace.

Pecman is joining law firm Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP as a senior business adviser.

While Pecman will remain in Ottawa, taking on a role at his alma mater was a welcome opportunity, he explains.

“I owe a great debt to McMaster for giving me the foundation to launch my career at the Bureau,” says Pecman, who grew up in the Niagara region and earned a master’s degree in economics in 1983.

“Mac did great things for me, and this is a wonderful opportunity to give something back,” he says. “What I find most interesting about the DeGroote School of Business is that it seems to be very progressive, in terms of focusing on corporate social responsibility, ethics, and values.”

Pecman brings years of invaluable, international experience to DeGroote, says Dean Len Waverman.

“It’s wonderful to have such an accomplished and knowledgeable expert joining us here at the School of Business,” Waverman says. “John has had an illustrious career, and we believe he’ll bring a lot of insight to the position. I’m thrilled he’s a McMaster graduate, too.”

In his new position at DeGroote, Pecman will focus on issues related to capital markets and industrial organization, both nationally and abroad. His insights will help bridge the gap between theory and practice in the field, and he will support outreach and engagement within the professional community.

While at the competition bureau, Pecman zeroed in on a number of major areas of the Canadian economy, including automotive, manufacturing, e-commerce, telecommunications and retail.

As reported in The Globe and Mail, under Pecman, the Bureau undertook “landmark investigations around anti-competitive behaviour at real estate brokerages, propane companies, newspaper chains, bread makers and online retailer Amazon.”

Before being appointed commissioner, he held the position of interim commissioner, beginning in September 2012.

He previously served as senior deputy commissioner of the bureau’s criminal matters branch, where he directed significant criminal investigations, including looking into retail gasoline cartels in Ontario and Quebec.

Pecman also held executive positions with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the International Competition Network, and served as a liaison between the two to ensure effective co-ordination.