Economic Briefing with Professor Larry Smith

"Warning, warning. Danger, danger." 

Larry Smith is known for his wildly popular lectures that resonate among University of Waterloo students and alumni from across campus. He delivers clear-eyed, unsparing reads of the forces shaping our world — and challenges his audiences to think harder about what it means for them in the Canadian economy. 

This October 1, Waterloo Engineering invites you to join us in Toronto for an evening reception and lecture with Professor Larry Smith. The event marks Smith’s remarkable 45-year career at the University where he specializes in forecasting and the economics of innovation.  

Economic Briefing: Where We are Today, and Where the Markets Will Inevitably Drive Us. 

With the Canadian and global economies under siege, AI threatening to upend employment norms, and other disruptive technologies waiting in the wings, it is easy to see uncertainty everywhere. Caution and delay seductively call to us. But the markets will have their way — temporarily deflected, perhaps, but never denied. And like the tides, they cannot be stopped. 

Drawing on a career spent examining how economies shift and societies respond, Larry will deliver what his students know as an economic briefing: a sharp, story-driven read of the world as it stands. Expect candour, conviction and wit.  

The talk will be followed by a Q&A — come prepared with questions.

We are grateful to Deloitte for generously hosting this event and look forward to welcoming a representative from Deloitte to open the evening.

This event is part of Waterloo Engineering's annual alumni lecture series exploring the forces shaping our global future. This year's focus on economic futures connects to the University of Waterloo's Global Futures vision — a framework for addressing the defining challenges of our time. 

Larry Smith
BA 1968, Economics; MA 1975, Economics
Founding Director and Senior Researcher, Problem Lab, University of Waterloo
Adjunct Associate Professor, Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business, University of Waterloo

Larry Smith is Founding Director and Senior Researcher of the University of Waterloo’s Problem Lab, whose sole mandate is to help find and understand important problems. Larry is also an Adjunct Associate Professor with the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business in the Faculty of Engineering. He is a Recipient of the University of Waterloo’s Distinguished Teacher Award.

Larry has assigned more than 30,000 grades and has now taught almost 25,000 students, representing nearly 10 percent of UW’s alumni. Over the past 45 years, he has offered career guidance to several thousand students and alumni across the widest range of occupations.  

Larry also advises UW students who start their own ventures. He has now worked with more than 500 teams of student entrepreneurs. Many have gone on to create companies of significant size and success.

He has provided consulting and forecasting services to major financial institutions, the construction and development industry, multinational manufacturers, regional governments, the Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada, professional service firms and trade associations.

Larry’s video Why You Will Fail to Have a Great Career, posted on ted.com and YouTube, has been viewed more than seven million times.  

Professor Mary A. Wells
Dean, Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo

Dr. Mary Wells is dean of engineering at the University of Waterloo, home to Canada's largest engineering school. A materials engineer by training, she is recognized nationally as a leading voice shaping the future of engineering education, research and talent in Canada.

Across industry, academia and public service, Wells has built a career connecting people and ideas to address complex challenges. Before returning to Waterloo, she was dean of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Guelph (2017 – 2020) and previously held faculty appointments at the University of British Columbia (1996 – 2007) and the University of Waterloo (2007 – 2017). She has worked in the steel industry both in Canada and abroad.

As Chair of Engineering Deans Canada, Wells leads national discussions on the evolution of engineering education, working with government and industry to strengthen innovation and diversify the engineering talent pipeline. She also serves on the Government of Canada's AI Strategy Task Force, contributing expertise on public trust in emerging technologies, and is a member of the TRuST Collective, a national network advancing confidence in science and technology.

A Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, Wells is also an accomplished researcher whose work in metallurgical processing has informed aerospace, automotive and manufacturing sectors.

Connect with Mary Wells on LinkedIn. 

Larry Smith will be introduced at the event by brothers Michael Litt (BASc '11) and Stephen Litt (BASc '07), both engineering alumni whose careers have been shaped by Larry’s teaching.

Michael Litt
BASc 2011, Systems Design Engineering
Co-Founder and CEO, Vidyard
Co-Founder and General Partner, Garage Capital

Michael Litt is the Co-founder and CEO of Vidyard, the leading video platform helping businesses transform how they communicate, engage, and grow. Vidyard was born out of a capstone project at the University of Waterloo’s Systems Design Engineering program, where Michael and his co-founder set out to revolutionize video hosting and analytics. Since then, Vidyard has grown into a global company serving millions of users.

Beyond Vidyard, Michael is a General Partner at Garage Capital, a seed-stage venture fund backing Canada’s top tech startups, and a Board Member at Quantum Valley Ideas Lab, supporting breakthroughs in quantum research. 

His insights on entrepreneurship, video technology, and venture capital have been featured in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and TechCrunch. A proud University of Waterloo alumnus, Michael is passionate about supporting the next generation of innovators and engineers.

Outside of business, he’s an avid adventurer, with a love for surfing, skiing, racing cars and exploring the outdoors.

Connect with Michael Litt on LinkedIn.

Stephen Litt
BASc 2007, Systems Design Engineering
Chief Development Officer, Vive Development Corporation
President, Oranj Constructors Inc.

Stephen Litt is the Chief Development Officer at Vive Development, Ontario’s leading rental housing producer, and President of Oranj Constructors. A champion of urban renewal, Vive has delivered over 1,000 new rental homes starts annually since 2023 with increasing pace for the foreseeable future. Stephen has led the transformation of 4,500+ suites across Kitchener, Waterloo, Guelph, Milton, and St. Catharines.

With a Systems Design Engineering degree from the University of Waterloo, he brings a solutions-driven approach to over $1.5B in completed projects. Stephen is committed to advancing housing affordability, energy efficiency, and accessibility, driving innovation in robotics, building automation, and modular systems design.

Connect with Stephen Litt on LinkedIn.