Corporate Team

Matthew McKean Chief R & D Officer

Matthew McKean is BHER's Chief R&D Officer. He is a member of BHER’s executive team and oversees the organization's diverse and growing member-driven research and programming agendas. Areas of focus include work-integrated learning (WIL), upskilling/reskilling, international talent recruitment, training, and retention, accessibility and EDI, the transition to net zero, navigating the AI revolution, as well as skills, talent, and the future of work more broadly.

Matthew has authored, co-authored, and directed hundreds of research deliverables, from infographics, briefings, and door-stop reports to podcasts, presentations, and op-eds. He writes, speaks publicly, and is a regular commentator and contributor to media, mostly on skills, talent, and education topics. His writing has appeared in The Globe & Mail, The Toronto Star, The National Post, The Ottawa Citizen, The Hill Times, The Conversation (Canada), This Magazine, Exclaim!, and elsewhere. 

Prior to joining BHER, he was Director of Education & Skills and a member of the senior leadership team at the Conference Board of Canada. He led a multi-year Skills and Post-Secondary Education (SPSE) research and convening initiative and the Council of University Executives (CUE), a pan-Canadian network of Provosts and Vice-Presidents. He was a founding member of the consortium team that was selected to set up and run the Future Skills Centre (FSC), a multi-year initiative funded by the Government of Canada’s Future Skills program.

Matthew holds a PhD in History from Queen's University and is an Adjunct Research Professor in the Department of History at Carleton University, where he taught for many years. He was a board member of the Ottawa International Writers Festival; a member of the National Advisory Committee for the Prime Minister's Awards for Excellence in Education; and the National Advisory Committee for People for Education.