Bill_Downe

Bill Downe

Bill Downe

Canadian banker

Not to be confused with Bill Down, Bill Downie, or Bill Downey.

William Arthur Downe CM (born 1952) is a Canadian banker who was chief executive officer of Bank of Montreal (also known as BMO Financial Group) from March 1, 2007, to October 31, 2017.[1][2]

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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 CEO of BMO Capital Markets.

In February 2006, Downe was named chief operating officer 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.[3][4][5][6]

In December 2016, Downe was named a Member of the Order of Canada.[7]

In April 2017, it was announced that Downe would retire as CEO effective on October 31, 2017. He was to be succeeded by current COO Darryl White, who had previously served as Group Head of BMO Capital Markets.[8]

Professional associations

Downe is the only Canadian member of the International Business Leaders Advisory Council of the Mayor of Beijing,[9] and he is a member of the International Advisory Council of Guanghua School of Management at Peking University.[10] He is a director of Catalyst, and a member of Catalyst's Canadian Board of Advisors.[10][11] Downe is also a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and Past President of the Federal Reserve Board's Federal Advisory Council.[10]

Charity work

Downe served as Chairman of the 2009 Campaign Cabinet for United Way of Greater Toronto.[10] 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.[10] He is also past Chair of the Board of Directors of St. Michael's Hospital.[10][12]

Education

Downe has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wilfrid Laurier University.[10] While obtaining a Master of Business Administration from the University of Toronto, he joined the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity.[13] In 2003, he received the Rotman Distinguished Business Alumni Award from the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management.[10][14]

References

  1. [1]
    "Executive Profile - William A. Downe". Businessweek. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  2. [2]
    "The Big Five banks' CEO cycle is complete. Here's how they performed". Canadian Business.
  3. [3]
    "Tony Comper to Retire as President and CEO of BMO Financial Group; Board Appoints Bill Downe as His Successor". Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
  4. [4]
    "BMO's Tony Comper to retire in March". 28 November 2006. Archived from the original on 17 January 2010.
  5. [5]
    "Storytelling experiment PenTales comes to Toronto | National Post". March 30, 2010.
  6. [6]
    "The Globe and Mail: BMO boss launches charity blitz". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 22 January 2011.
  7. [7]
    "Order of Canada's newest appointees include Paralympian, Supreme Court judge and astrophysicist". CBC News, December 30, 2016.
  8. [8]
    "Bank of Montreal CEO Bill Downe to retire in October, COO Darryl White to take the helm | Financial Post". April 7, 2017.
  9. [9]
    Brearton, Steve (15 December 2016). "The Power List: Canada's Most Powerful Business People 2017". Archived from the original on 4 November 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  10. [10]
    Wendel, Amy. "CEO profile: Bill Downe, Bank of Montreal | Leadership & Strategy | Business Chief North America". Business Chief. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  11. [11]
    "Catalyst women's organization defends choosing a man to head advisory board, again | CBC Radio". CBC. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  12. [12]
    "William Downe at a glance". Forbes. Archived from the original on December 30, 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  13. [13]
    Catalogue of the Alpha Delta Phi: 1832-2002. New York, NY: The Executive Council of The Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity. 2002. p. 319.
  14. [14]
    "Speaker Profile William Downe". The Economic Club of Canada. Archived from the original on 20 December 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
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