Rose M. Patten is Special Advisor to the President and CEO of BMO Financial Group (reporting to the President and CEO) and is a member of the bank’s executive committee. In this role she partners with the business group heads to advise on and champion select enterprise strategies – with particular emphasis on leadership development and succession, organization and culture. She works in parallel with group heads to monitor and recommend on the overall effectiveness of the organization. This mandate also includes key advisory roles with respect to BMO’s growing operations in the U.S. and China.

In a career that has spanned the four financial sectors – banking, trust, insurance and investment banking and included mandates with responsibility for Canada, the U.S. and Asia – her previous roles include: Senior Executive Vice-President (2003-2011) Head of Human Resources, Corporate Communications and Senior Leadership Advisor; Executive Vice-President, Office of Strategic Management (1998-2003); Senior Vice-President, Corporate Services (1995-1998); Executive Vice-President at Nesbitt Burns (1992-1995), Senior Vice-President at ManuLife Financial (1987-1991) and Vice-President/General Manager at Continental Bank of Canada/Lloyds Bank Canada (1975-1987).

In these roles, Ms. Patten has made significant contributions to business strategy, merger/acquisition integration, governance, leadership assessment and succession and leading transformational change.

Ms. Patten was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree for Corporate Leadership (2009) from the University of Toronto and was recognized as the YWCA’s Woman of Distinction for Corporate Leadership (2008). She has received the University of Toronto’s Arbor Award for Outstanding Service, and the Tony Graham Award for Outstanding Achievement. Ms. Patten has been consistently recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women, and was among the first women to be inducted into the award’s hall of fame. She has also been recognized as one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking by U.S. Banker Magazine.

Currently, Ms. Patten is director of BMO China Co. in China; she is Vice-Chair of Hospital for Sick Children and Chair of Governance. She is Director of Board and Executive Committee, Chair, Human Resources & Compensation Committee of Metrolinx (Ontario Ministry of Transportation). She is a Member of Advisory Committee on Senior Level Retention and Compensation, Treasury Board of Canada. Ms. Patten’s previous board roles include terms as Chair of the Governing Council, University of Toronto and Chair of the Task Force for Review of Governance, University of Toronto.

(July 2011)

R. Patten (high-resolution picture, jpg, 294k)