William A. Downe is a Canadian bank executive. He became president and chief executive officer of Bank of Montreal

Bank of Montreal

The Bank of Montreal , , or BMO Financial Group, is the fourth largest bank in Canada by deposits. The Bank of Montreal was founded on June 23, 1817 by John Richardson and eight merchants in a rented house in Montreal, Quebec. On May 19, 1817 the Articles of Association were adopted, making it...

 (also known as BMO Financial Group) on March 1, 2007.

Career

Downe joined Bank of Montreal in 1983 and held a variety of senior management positions in Canada and the U.S. In 1999, he was appointed vice-chair, Bank of Montreal. From 2001 to 2006, he was deputy chair of BMO Financial Group and chief executive officer of the investment banking division BMO Nesbitt Burns

BMO Nesbitt Burns

BMO Nesbitt Burns is a Canadian investment firm. Since its formation in 1912, BMO Nesbitt Burns and its predecessor companies have offered aid to investors in meeting their financial goals. In August 1987 the Bank of Montreal took advantage of new banking regulations to acquire Nesbitt Thomson,...

. In February 2006, Downe was named chief operating officer

Chief operating officer

A Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...

 and was chosen to replace Tony Comper as president and chief executive officer of BMO effective March 1, 2007, the day of BMO's annual general meeting.

Professional Associations

Bill Downe is the only Canadian member of the International Business Leaders Advisory Council of the Mayor of Beijing, and he is a member of the International Advisory Council of Guanghua School of Management at Peking University. He is a director of Catalyst, and a member of Catalyst’s Canadian Board of Advisors. Mr. Downe is also a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and Past President of the Federal Reserve Board’s Federal Advisory Council.

Charity Work

Downe served as Chairman of the 2009 Campaign Cabinet for United Way of Greater Toronto. He is a member of the Rotman School of Management Campaign Cabinet, and he sits on the board of Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation. He is also past Chair of the Board of Directors of St. Michael’s Hospital.

Education

Downe has a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree from Wilfrid Laurier University

Wilfrid Laurier University

Wilfrid Laurier University is a university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It also has campuses in Brantford, Ontario, Kitchener, Ontario and Toronto, Ontario and a future proposed campus in Milton, Ontario. It is named in honour of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the seventh Prime Minister of Canada....

 and a Master of Business Administration

Master of Business Administration

The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...

 from the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

. In 2003, he received the Rotman Distinguished Business Alumni Award from the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management.

External links

• Biography of William Downe at BMO corporate site