Peter Cowan

Throughout Peter’s work and academic career his interests have been focused on the international business environment. His career has evidenced a lifelong interest in international business activity of Canadian enterprises with a particular focus on SMEs, a strong applied research and experience based grounding in the activities of the Canadian exporting community and financial institutions, and an inherent curiosity as to the why’s and how’s of international business practices.

Prior to joining Pilon School of Business at Sheridan College in 2014, Peter worked at Export Development Canada (EDC). Responsibilities at EDC were wide and varied, and at various levels of management and senior advisory roles. He was initially involved in many transactional aspects of asset/liability management and origination activities associated with providing debt financing in support of Canadian exporters. Subsequent moves within EDC provided exposure/experience in such areas as SMEs, international financial institutions, relationship management activities with industry associations, financial product development, and global supply chains. Final areas of exposure/experience at EDC related to being involved in strategic/policy issues associated with enhancing EDC’s value added product and service offering to the Canadian exporter community. Within the broader context of international business, Peter considers his areas of core knowledge and competency to be in the following areas: 

• International risk analysis
• Supply chain finance
• SMEs
• Canadian financial institutions 

Peter’s responsibilities at Pilon are associated with teaching/leading/developing courses related to the International Business Environment, Supply Chain Finance, and Contemporary Issues in Business; and supporting 4th year students in their undergraduate thesis efforts. Additionally, he has been responsible for developing courses related to International Trade Research and Funding of Creative Industries.

Peter holds a BA from the University of Alberta, a MBA (International Business) from the University of Western Ontario, and a PhD in Management from Carleton University. The title of Peter’s doctoral dissertation was “Understanding the Relationship Between the Supply Chain and Finance Functions in Canadian Export Oriented Firms and Its Impact on Innovation Consideration”.