Our team is among the most highly specialized and experienced in the industry, with international experience in research, writing and scholarship across public, private and university sectors. SIERC-led projects have produced complex creative products (such as award-nominated books), professional business biographies (published by university presses), graduate-level case studies (for corporate university environments), court-based expert legal research (for complex litigation), in addition to a wide variety of communications products – presentations, speeches, keynote addresses, briefing notes and more. These projects and products are diverse and wide-ranging. But it is precisely our experience with that wide range of projects that allows us to deliver insights across product categories.
Dr. Laurence B. Mussio, FRHistS, is one of Canada’s leading authorities on the intersection of business history, strategic decision-making, risk, and institutional transformation. As Founder and CEO of SIERC, he advises senior executives, boards of directors, financial institutions, and public-sector leaders on navigating complex challenges through the disciplined application of historical intelligence, strategic foresight, and institutional memory.
A trusted counselor to some of North America’s most influential organizations, Dr. Mussio helps leaders understand how technological disruption, regulatory change, political economy, governance, and risk shape long-term organizational success. His work bridges the gap between rigorous scholarship and real-world decision-making, enabling organizations to make better choices in periods of uncertainty and transition.
Dr. Mussio is also a prominent public intellectual and commentator on business, finance, public policy, and emerging risks. As a frequent and influential contributor to The Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper of record, his essays and commentaries have helped shape debates on enterprise risk, financial stability, technological disruption, regulation, governance, and geopolitical uncertainty. Drawing on historical perspective to illuminate contemporary challenges, his writings are widely read by business leaders, policymakers, and investors seeking deeper context behind today’s headlines.
Dr. Mussio is the internationally recognized author of Whom Fortune Favours: The Bank of Montreal and the Rise of North American Finance (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2020), the definitive two-volume history of one of North America’s oldest and most influential financial institutions. The work was praised by renowned historian Sir Niall Ferguson as an “exemplary, deeply researched and insightful history” and is widely regarded as a landmark contribution to financial and business history.
His earlier book, A Vision Greater Than Themselves: The Making of the Bank of Montreal, 1817–2017, brought two centuries of Canadian financial history to a broad audience and further established his reputation as one of the country’s foremost business historians. His publications are available in both English and French and are regularly referenced by scholars, business leaders, and policymakers.
In recognition of his contributions to scholarship and public understanding, Dr. Mussio is an elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, United Kingdom.
His leadership appointments include:
Dr. Mussio is an Honorary Professor of Practice at Queen’s Business School, Queen’s University Belfast, where he contributes to executive education and thought leadership at the intersection of business strategy, leadership, and economic history. He has taught and lectured at leading business schools across North America, including the Schulich School of Business at York University, McMaster University, Syracuse University, and the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA Program.
As a Certified Training and Development Professional (CTDP), he regularly works with senior leaders in both the private and public sectors, helping organizations strengthen strategic thinking, leadership capability, and risk awareness through the application of historical insight.
Beyond Canada, Dr. Mussio’s work has informed global discussions on governance, strategy, and technological change. He has contributed to research initiatives associated with the RAND Corporation, including the study “Applying History to Inform Anticipatory AI Governance: Using Foresight and Hindsight to Inform Policymaking.”
Fluent in French and Italian, with working proficiency in German, he is a member of several international scholarly and professional networks and has been recognized as a Chevalier of La Confrérie de la Tastevin de Bourgogne, France. He is listed in Canadian Who’s Who.
Based in Toronto, Dr. Mussio continues to advise senior leaders, contribute to national policy debates, and advance the use of historical intelligence as a strategic tool for decision-makers confronting risk, disruption, and long-term change.
Elizabeth Delaney brings extensive executive experience across both the private and not-for-profit sectors. As a regional coordinator with a national not-for-profit organization, she led programs serving a diverse range of stakeholders and communities. Her professional background also includes work in the business, post-secondary, and arts sectors, complemented by a membership in the Editors’ Association of Canada. She has been a valued member of the SIERC team since 2013.
Elizabeth is a member of the Burlington Symphony Orchestra. She plays viola.
Signal Influence Executive Research & Communications, Inc. (SIERC) is a boutique consulting firm specializing in the strategic application of organizational experience for senior leadership.