Executive Bios

Darryl is Chief Executive Officer of BMO, the eighth largest bank in North America by assets, serving over 13 million customers across Canada, the United States, and in select global markets for over 200 years. Darryl chairs BMO's Executive Committee and serves as a director of BMO Financial Group and its U.S. subsidiary, BMO Financial Corp.

 

Darryl joined BMO as an investment banking analyst in 1994. He returned to his hometown of Montreal in 2006 to lead the bank's Quebec Investment & Corporate Banking team. In 2014, he was named CEO and Group Head, BMO Capital Markets, and in 2016 appointed BMO's Chief Operating Officer.

 

Driven by the bank’s Purpose, to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life, Darryl is committed to supporting a thriving economy, a sustainable future and inclusive society. He is a member of Washington, D.C-based, The Business Council, Ottawa-based Business Council of Canada, the Business Council of Toronto, the Mayor of Beijing’s International Business Leaders Advisory Council, and the Bank Policy Institute. In partnership with United Way Greater Toronto, Darryl also Co-Chairs the Inclusive Local Economic Opportunity Roundtable, uniting business and community leaders in approaches to reduce economic disparity in the region.

 

An advocate for eliminating barriers to inclusion, Darryl serves as a Director and Executive Committee member of Catalyst, and its Canada Advisory Board. He is the Campaign Cabinet Co-President for the Montréal Children’s Hospital Foundation, a member of Toronto's University Health Network Board of Trustees and Honourary Campaign Co-Chair for Kids Help Phone. A lifelong sports fan, Darryl serves as a director of Alpine Canada, the governing body for alpine, para-alpine and ski cross racing in Canada and chairs the board of the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens.

 

Darryl holds an Honours Business Administration degree and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the Ivey Business School at Western University and is a graduate of Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program. Darryl is a past recipient of Canada's Top 40 under 40^® Award and was named 2023 CEO of the Year and Strategist of the Year by The Globe and Mail.

 

Darrel Hackett serves as Chief Executive Officer of BMO Financial Corp. and President and Chief Executive Officer of BMO Bank N.A.; a top 10 U.S. bank by assets. As U.S. CEO, Darrel also serves as an Executive Committee member of BMO Financial Group and is Chair of the U.S. Management Committee. He is responsible for leadership and performance across all of BMO’s U.S. operations.

 

Darrel has held a variety of leadership roles since joining BMO in 2004. In his most recent role, Darrel served as President, BMO Wealth Management U.S. He also served as Senior Vice President & Head of North American Integrated Channels, where he led the development and execution of BMO’s multichannel distribution strategy. Other key roles include Senior Vice President & Head, U.S. Business Banking; Regional President, Chicago Metro; and Head, Acquisition, and Integration Group.

 

Before joining BMO, Darrel was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. He also held a variety of roles at the General Electric Company, where he began his professional career.

 

Darrel serves on the Board of Directors for the Art Institute of Chicago, Rush University Medical Center, Kids First Chicago, and United Way of Metro Chicago. He is also a member of the Federal Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Board.

 

Darrel has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Science (Cum Laude) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Levent is currently Head of BMO Global Markets, where he is responsible for overseeing all sales/trading and finance activities for global fixed income, commodities, foreign exchange, and equity products. Prior to this role, Levent was co-head of Global FICC. Prior to BMO, Levent spent 8 years as the CEO and co-founder of KGS-Alpha Capital Markets, the premier independent Fixed Income broker-dealer which was bought by BMO in 2018. Before KGS-Alpha, he was a Managing Director at Barclays Capital and Citi, where he held various trading and management positions. Previously, Mr. Kahraman worked in management consulting, where he advised financial services firms on credit risk management. Mr. Kahraman holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a BA in Economics and a BS in Civil Engineering, both from Cornell University.

Warren Estey is Head of Investment Banking and a member of the Global Management Committee at BMO Capital Markets. Previously, he was Head of the U.S. Mergers & Acquisitions Group. He joined the firm after 23 years at Deutsche Bank. During his tenure there, he held positions as Vice Chairman of Investment Banking Coverage & Advisory, as Head of the Natural Resources Group, Americas and as Co-Head of the U.S. Equity Capital Markets Group.

 

Warren has experience advising clients across a broad range of industries, products, market caps and geographies. Over his career, he has executed more than 400 transactions for clients representing more than $240B of value.

 

Warren has also held leadership positions in Bank of America’s Consumer Division and as an Armor Officer in the U.S. Army.

 

Warren earned an MBA from The Darden School at The University of Virginia, where he has since served as a member of The Darden School Board of Trustees and the Chairman of the Darden School Alumni Board of Directors. Warren earned a BBA from the University of Miami, which he attended on a full Army ROTC Scholarship.

 

Warren is also a former member of the Board of Directors of Homeless Solutions, Inc. where he served as Chairman of the Finance Committee.

As Head, U.S. Commercial Bank, Tony is responsible for developing and implementing strategy, building new customer relationships and overseeing the overall financial performance of the business. He leads nearly 3,000 team members committed to providing optimized financial solutions and industry-specific relationship management for commercial clients, including Middle Market Investments Banking, Real Estate Banking, Treasury and a wide range of diversified and specialized businesses. The team works holistically with companies to provide an integrated suite of commercial debt products, treasury and payment solutions, deposit products and services, M&A advisory, mezzanine finance, and equity. In addition, Tony is a member of the BMO U.S. Management Committee.

 

With more than 30 years of industry experience, he brings diverse expertise to his role spanning senior banking, commercial client acquisition and market expansion. Prior to joining BMO, Tony served as Managing Director and Segment Head for Commercial Banking clients in the Western United States at JPMorgan Chase. He was responsible for more than 30 offices and their respective teams of commercial bankers, delivering the firm’s global capabilities to local clients.

 

Tony joined JPMorgan Chase in 2018 from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he served as a Global Client Acquisition Executive across the U.S. and Canada for its global commercial bank. Prior to that, he was the Market Executive, overseeing financial professionals specializing in strategic debt, treasury, and capital markets solutions for commercial banking companies in California.

 

Tony holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from the University of San Diego and, this past year, completed the Harvard Business School Presidents Program for Leadership. He is a FINRA-registered principal with Series 7, 63, and 24 securities licenses.

 

An active community member, Tony serves on the board of directors for the California Chamber of Commerce, YPOLA (Young Presidents’ Organization Los Angeles), and the LA Sports Council. He has also been an executive committee board member for the LA EDC and LA Chamber of Commerce, and a board member of Discovery Cube LA.

 

Throughout his career, Tony has received several accolades. For multiple years, he has been named to the LA500 by the Los Angeles Business Journal, recognizing him as one of the most influential and impactful executives in Los Angeles.

 

A native of San Diego, Tony resides in Manhattan Beach, California with his wife Christine and their three adult children: Kaitlyn, Juliana, and Peter.

Carolyn is responsible for leading the end-to-end strategy, risk management, governance and financial performance across U.S. Personal and Business Banking, including branch channels, Virtual Contact Center, specialty teams and Product & Head Quarter functions. Her responsibilities include representing U.S. P&BB on the Risk Management Committee, U.S. Regulatory Committee and U.S. Management Committee. She is passionate about building diverse, engaged teams and working collaboratively to deliver an exceptional customer experience.

 

Carolyn started her career in 1991 as a part-time teller, and over the next decade took increasingly more senior roles, including Branch Manager, Account Manager, District Vice President and Head of U.S. Distribution and Business Banking which she was appointed to in 2018 before rising to her current role in 2024. Prior to her roles in the U.S., Carolyn was Senior Vice President for the Atlantic Provinces Division, for the bank’s Canadian Personal and Commercial business units.

 

She was twice awarded a Top 50 CEO award by Atlantic Business Magazine for her support and leadership within the Atlantic Canadian business community.

 

Since arriving in Chicago, Carolyn has been making inroads in supporting local women’s business advocacy and charitable activities. Carolyn is a member of the International Women’s Forum and has helped launch various initiatives to support women business owners including the BMO Celebrating Women Grants Program and supports the United Way of Metro Chicago Women’s Leadership Council. She also supports BMORE, a program that seeks to remove barriers to employment in African American and Latino communities and serves as an advisor on the U.S. P&BB Advisory Senate to further develop talent at BMO from all lines of business.

 

Since 2016, Carolyn has been part of BMO’s team of female leaders and was included on American Banker’s 2022 list of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking and Finance.

 

Carolyn is a member of the U.S. WISE Advisory Board, BMO’s employee resource group for women, and actively mentors a number of other executives in the company. She serves on the Board of Directors for Skills for Chicagoland’s Future and is an Executive Mentor for the BMO Harris / 1871 Innovation Program, and serves on the executive committee of Junior Achievement of Chicago. She has an undergraduate degree from McGill University and holds an MBA in Services from Dalhousie University.

Based in Los Angeles, Michele is Head of the U.S. Wealth Management business for BMO, the 8th largest bank in North America serving individuals, families and family offices across their investment, tax, estate, philanthropic, risk and capital needs. In addition, she is a member of the BMO U.S. Management Committee.

 

Michele brings nearly 30 years of experience and expertise to her role as a senior banking, wealth management and financial services executive. Prior to joining BMO, she led the Western Region at Northern Trust where she delivered historic levels of growth. In addition, she served as Executive Vice President and member of the Wealth Management Executive Committee, where she participated in setting overall strategy for the firm. Michele began her career in New York with JP Morgan as a Portfolio Manager.

 

Michele has chaired nonprofit boards and several committees. She currently serves as a director of two nonprofit boards, the UCLA Anderson School of Management Board of Advisors and the Marymount High School Board of Trustees and various Finance and Investment Committees. Michele is an active member of the Young President’s Organization (YPO) of Los Angles where she has chaired the Membership Committee. She has served as board chair and President and led organizations through growth and transformation, including multiple CEO successions. She is a recent Past President of the Jonathan Club serving on the board from 2017 – 2023. She is a former member of the St. Matthews Parish School Board of Trustees. She remains active with the Los Angeles CEO Council and Chamber of Commerce, the Los Angeles Women in Leadership Group, and the National Charity League – Los Angeles where she serves as secretary. Prior activities include the United Way of Greater Los Angeles Board of Directors, the LA Legends Club, Vistage International, and Woodland Park Zoo Board of Directors.

 

Michele holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in finance and marketing from Boston College and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Michele attends the Harvard Business School’s Post Graduate Executive Education Program for members of Young Presidents Organization and is completing her seventh year in a nine-year executive education program. In addition, Michele holds a Certified Financial Planner® (CFP®) designation.

 

She was recognized as a 2025 Banking & Finance Visionary by LA Times Studios and has been awarded the Puget Sound Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Award in 2010. In 2013, Michele received nominations by the Los Angeles Business Journal for the Women Making a Difference Awards and was honored by the Century City Chamber of Commerce for the Women of Achievement award. She has also been recognized by the LABJ as a Top Women in Banking, Banking and Finance Visionary, Woman of Influence in Banking, and as one of the 500 most influential people in Los Angeles.

Ann Marie Wright is an executive risk and transformational leader with a comprehensive background in guiding large scale strategic initiatives, driving operational excellence, and navigating complex regulatory environments in the financial sector. Ann Marie is skilled in enhancing risk management frameworks, auditing processes, and compliance systems while elevating a culture of innovation and inclusion. Ann Marie’s diverse career encompasses leading both global and domestic teams through organizational optimization, and transformational projects and initiatives.

 

Ann Marie is currently the U.S. Chief Risk Officer for BMO Financial Corporation, the US subsidiary of BMO Financial Group, the National’s eighth largest bank by assets. Ann Marie is responsible for providing independent review and oversight of risk issues and ensuring that the organization is effectively identifying and managing the risks (e.g. credit, market, operational, liquidity) in BMO’s US Operations, which is approximately $400B in assets.

 

Being promoted to the role during the pandemic, Ann Marie serves on the Board of The Chicago Foundation for Women (former Board Chair), and Leadership Greater Chicago. She maintains active membership in The Chicago Network, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., The Links Incorporated, and Jack and Jill of America.

 

Ann Marie holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Master's in Management degree specializing in Finance and Management Strategy from Northwestern University.

Stephen R. Taylor currently serves as Chief Administrative Officer of BMO’s U.S. Operations. In this role Steve is responsible for ensuring BMO executes its U.S. Strategy with appropriate focus and oversight over its U.S. Operations and is an active participant in the development and execution of its U.S. Strategy. Steve was the Lead Executive responsible for the integration of the recently acquired Bank of the West operations.

 

Steve previously served as Chief Financial Officer of BMO’s U.S. Operations. Before joining BMO, Mr. Taylor was with Citizens Financial Group where he served as Chief Financial Officer to the Consumer & Business Banking segment. Prior to Citizens Mr. Taylor had been with Fleet Boston Financial Corp. where he held a number of positions, the most recent of which being Director of Finance. Mr. Taylor began his career at KPMG and was a Senior Manager in that firm’s banking practice.

 

Mr. Taylor received his BS in Accounting from Providence College He is a CPA and current member of the AICPA. Mr. Taylor currently serves on the Board of the Boys & Girls Club of Chicago.

Tim currently serves as the U.S. General Counsel and Chief Regulatory Officer. He is responsible for the overall leadership and performance of the Legal and Regulatory Compliance function, including banking regulation and supervision, corporate governance, litigation and investigations, and is a member of the U.S. Management Committee and chairs the U.S. Regulatory Committee.

 

Tim has held numerous roles in the bank, including U.S. Chief Regulatory Officer and Managing Director & U.S. Chief Security Officer. Prior to joining the bank, Tim was an attorney at Vedder Price P.C., a Chicago-based law firm where he advised on regulatory matters, negotiated regulatory enforcement actions, and assisted financial institutions with corporate governance matters. Before law school, Tim spent seven years in finance and accounting roles of increasing responsibility in large organizations. He also serves as director for Blessings in a Backpack.

 

Tim graduated from Loyola University of Chicago, School of Law and from Indiana University, Kelley School of Business with a degree in finance.

Don Erickson is the U.S. Chief Auditor for BMO Financial Group and is responsible for leading a team of audit professionals, identifying insights into current, emerging and potential issues, trends, and opportunities that will enhance efficiency and effectiveness of control processes.

 

Most recently, Don served as the Managing Director for U.S. Corporate Audit, accountable for the U.S. Regulatory and Enterprise AML audit teams while also coordinating various strategic initiatives for the Division.

 

Don began his career at BMO Financial Group in 2008 as the U.S. Regulatory Compliance & Governance Director in the Corporate Audit Division. Don’s team was responsible for the planning and execution of numerous audits with a focus on high-risk consumer regulations and business practices.

 

Prior to joining BMO, Don served as Associate Audit Director at Raymond James Financial in St. Petersburg, Florida. Don’s career also includes tenures with Franklin Templeton Investments and PwC.

 

Don received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting and Computer Science from Augustana College and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Tampa.

 

Don is a Board Member of the Lutheran Social Services of Illinois and serves as Chair of the Audit Committee.

Eric Smith is Vice Chair of BMO U.S., where he serves as the Chief CRA Officer and as a senior advisor to the Commercial Banking management team.

 

Eric joined BMO in January 2020 from Fifth Third Bank, where he served as the Regional President responsible for the growth and strategic alignment of the commercial banking, wealth & asset management and consumer businesses across the Chicagoland market. Prior to assuming that role in 2016, Eric served as Chief Financial Officer of Middle Market Banking for JPMorgan Chase for several years following his leadership role as a Managing Director in the Investment Bank responsible for advising Fortune 500 consumer product companies on mergers and acquisitions as well as debt and equity underwritings. Eric has more than 30 years of banking experience, and he began his career with Merrill Lynch as a Financial Analyst in Public Finance.

 

Eric is not only a corporate leader, but also a visionary civic leader, demonstrated by his extensive board service and volunteerism. He currently serves as a Corporate Director of Southern Company Gas, Co- Chair of the Civic Committee’s Public Safety Task Force, Immediate Past Board Chairman of the Chicago Urban League, Vice Chairman of the Board of Lyric Opera, and Vice Chairman of the Board of Navy Pier. He is also an active Board Member of the Chicago Public Education Fund, the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Economic Club of Chicago, the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, Lurie Children’s Hospital, and Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

 

Eric earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from Howard University and his MBA from Harvard Business School.

 

Halé Behzadi is Vice Chair, California for BMO U.S. She is responsible for advancing BMO’s market presence in California, working closely with line of business leaders across Commerical Banking, Wealth Management, Personal & Business Banking and Capital Markets to maximize client success.

 

Halé is a proven leader with four decades of experience driving exceptional growth and organizational excellence in the financial services industry. She is known for her ability to build high-performing teams, develop innovative business strategies and create value across complex environments.

 

Before joining BMO, Halé served as North American Head of Private Banking for Citi Global Wealth. In this role, she worked with ultra-high net worth families and their closely held business and philanthropic ventures and led Citi Private Banking activities in 25 offices across the U.S. and Canada. Prior to joining Citigroup, Halé enjoyed a long career at Bank of America, where she was Senior Vice President directing a team of private banking professionals in Beverly Hills.

 

An active and deeply connected community member, Halé most recently served as Chair of the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation's Executive Committee and Board of Governors where she has been a board member since 2016. Halé is a founding member of the Ambassadors for Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security, and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Iranian American Women Foundation.

 

Throughout her career, Halé has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Women in Wealth Investment Award by Family Wealth Report and Woman of the Year Award by Women in Asset Management.

 

Halé holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Georgetown University and has extensive financial certifications including Series 7, 24, 63 and 65 FINRA licenses.

 

Henry J. Munez is BMO U.S. Vice Chair with client development responsibilities that maximize profitable revenue growth across all LOBs from Commercial Banking, Wealth Management, Personal & Business Banking and Capital Markets. As a chief connector, multi-generational relationship building is a key tenet for success; and Henry makes each relationship personal and local – one client, one colleague, and one community at a time.

 

Prior to his executive appointment, Henry was Head of Specialty Markets Group (“SMG”), BMO Commercial Bank U.S. with P/L responsibilities for several U.S. industry-based businesses: (i) Asset Based Lending, (ii) Food, Consumer & Agribusiness, (iii) Franchise Finance, (iv) Mid-Corporate Banking, and (v) Healthcare. Prior to SMG, Henry was BMO’s Illinois Market Executive and Head of Diversified Industries Group, focusing on commercial middle market banking. Before joining BMO in 2008, Henry was Managing Director, Division Head at LaSalle Bank N.A., leading a team in the National Institutional Real Estate Group, covering private equity sponsors and real estate operating companies based in New York, Boston, and Washington, D.C. markets. He started his banking career as a credit analyst at LaSalle National Bank in the early 1990s and has been a relationship manager for commercial and industrial middle-market companies.

 

Henry is very active in the civic community. He currently serves on the executive board for The Chicago Botanic Garden as Government Affairs Chair and is a Director for the Western Golf Association (a/k/a Evans Scholars Foundation) on its Long-Range Planning Committee. He has previously served on the executive boards of United Way of Metropolitan Chicago’s Corporate Cabinet, Boys Hope Girls Hope of Illinois, the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois, the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras, Leading India’s Future Today, and Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago Associate Board. He was founder of the Chicago Chapter of Real Estate Lenders Association and is currently a member of the Economic Club of Chicago.

 

Henry holds a joint M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and York University’s Schulich School of Business (“Kellogg-Schulich”), as well as a B.A. in Economics and Finance with a minor in Psychology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.