Executive Bios

Darryl White was appointed Chief Executive Officer of BMO in 2017. He serves as a director of BMO Financial Group as well as its U.S. subsidiary, BMO Financial Corp. He is a member of the Ottawa-based Business Council of Canada, the Washington, D.C.-based The Business Council, and the Mayor of Beijing’s International Business Leaders Advisory Council. Darryl also serves as a director of The Bank Policy Institute (BPI), a nonpartisan public policy, research and advocacy group, representing leading banks in the U.S. Darryl is Chair of the Catalyst Canada Advisory Board and a member of the Catalyst Board of Directors.

 

Mr. White has strong ties to United Way Centraide. In 2018, he became Co-Chair of the Inclusive Local Economic Opportunity Roundtable, a partnership between BMO and United Way Greater Toronto that brings together business and community leaders to develop approaches to reduce economic disparity in the region.

 

Mr. White serves as Campaign Cabinet Co-President for the Montréal Children’s Hospital Foundation. He is also a director of both the National Hockey League’s Montreal Canadiens, and Alpine Canada, the governing body for alpine, para-alpine and ski cross racing in Canada.

 

Mr. White is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario's Richard Ivey School of Business and has completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.

 

 

David is responsible for the overall performance of BMO Financial Corp., BMO Harris Bank N.A. and their subsidiaries. He is also responsible for ensuring effective governance across all BMO U.S. operations.

 

David is a member of BMO Financial Group’s Executive Committee, and he chairs BMO’s U.S. Management Committee.

 

David began his career with BMO Financial Group working at Harris Bank in Chicago. In his most recent role, he had responsibility for the strategic growth and leadership of BMO Commercial Bank. Prior to that, he led the commercial banking business for BMO Harris Bank as Executive Vice-President and Head of Commercial Banking. From 2006 to 2010, David served as Executive Managing Director and Co-Head, Investment & Corporate Banking U.S. for BMO Capital Markets. In this role, he was responsible for coordinating the investment and corporate banking activities of the U.S. industry sector and product groups.

 

David currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Chicago Public Library Foundation, Start Early (formerly the Ounce of Prevention Fund), the United Way of Metro Chicago, Northwestern Medical Group, Milwaukee’s Summerfest, Sentry Insurance Company, the Civic Federation and World Business Chicago. He is also the Board Chair for Kids First Chicago. He is a member of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago and the Trustees Committee of the Chicago Community Trust.

 

David is also a member of the Federal Advisory Council, which provides the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System with the financial industry’s perspective on matters under the Board’s jurisdiction, including both regulatory and monetary policy.

 

A Wisconsin native, David received a Masters of Management Degree from Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a BA (AB) from Dartmouth College.

 

(March 2023)

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.

Darrel has served as President, BMO Wealth Management – U.S. since 2014. He is accountable for BMO’s private wealth management businesses in the United States, leading a team of 1,000 high performing professionals and over $130 billion in client assets. He also serves on the board of directors of BMO Harris Bank N.A., the board that governs BMO Financial Group’s principal banking subsidiary in the United States.

 

Since joining BMO in 2004, Darrel has held several leadership roles including Head of North American Integrated Channels; Head of US Business Banking; Regional President - Chicago Metro; and Head of Acquisition Integration. Before joining BMO, Darrel was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. Prior to that, he held a variety of roles at the General Electric Company.

 

Darrel serves as an independent board director for Glatfelter (NYSE: GLT), a global B2B engineered materials supplier. He also is a board director for the Art Institute of Chicago, the Rush University Medical Center and Chicago United.

 

Darrel has an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

David Jacobson became Vice Chair of BMO Financial Group in October 2013. In this role he is responsible for driving business across all lines, including Capital Markets, Personal and Commercial Banking, and Wealth Management. Among other responsibilities at the bank, Mr. Jacobson is a member of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Montreal (China) Co. Ltd., and serves as Chair of BMO’s Political Action Committee.

 

Prior to joining BMO, Mr. Jacobson served as the 22nd United States Ambassador to Canada, holding the role from 2009 to 2013. As Ambassador, he worked to expand the bilateral trading relationship between the United States and Canada, raising it to the highest level between any two countries in history. Ambassador Jacobson led the efforts of the Beyond the Border Action Plan and the Regulatory Cooperation Council to improve the security and efficiency of the border between the two countries. He worked to strike a balance between using North America’s energy resources and preserving the environment, and to foster the shared values of the United States and Canada around the world. For his efforts, Ambassador Jacobson received the State Department’s 2012 Sue M. Cobb Award for Exemplary Diplomatic Service.

 

Before becoming Ambassador, he served in the Obama White House as Special Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel. Prior to joining government service, he was a corporate lawyer in Chicago.

 

Mr. Jacobson is involved in a number of civic activities. He was appointed by President Obama to the Board of Trustees of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He also sits on several civic boards, including the United States Chamber of Commerce, the National Archives Foundation and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

 

Mr. Jacobson received a JD degree from Georgetown University, where he was the Administrative Editor of the Georgetown Law Journal. He received his BS degree from Johns Hopkins University.

 

Mr. Jacobson lives in Chicago with his wife Julie. They have two adult children.

Ernie Johannson is BMO’s Group Head of North American Personal and Business Banking and a member of the bank’s Executive Committee. Ernie leads a team of 21,000 responsible for helping nearly 10 million personal and business banking customers make real financial progress.

 

In her current role, Ernie supports BMO’s efforts to accelerate growth, building on her passion for delivering exceptional customer service and her track record of innovating and generating sustainable profit growth in a rapidly changing environment. Her North American mandate allows her to scale BMO’s technological and cultural transformations already underway in both geographies. She was instrumental in BMO’s acquisition of Bank of the West in February 2022, which doubled the size of BMO’s Personal & Business Banking business in the U.S. Under her leadership, the Personal and Business Banking teams have been recognized regularly for best-in-class products and customer experience, including among Forbes list of World’s Best Banks and American Banker’s ranking of the Top 15 Customer Experiences. The team was also recognized as having the best mobile money management experience in Canada by Insider Intelligence.

 

Previously, Ernie led U.S. Personal and Business Banking. She launched a bold strategy that changed the business’ trajectory, increased revenue by double digits, and improved employee engagement significantly despite a heavy change agenda. She also championed the launch of enhanced digital banking to both meet growing customer expectations and compete with larger-scale U.S. banks.

 

Since joining BMO in 2012, Ernie has delivered results leading diverse businesses and corporate groups, including serving as North American Chief Risk Officer.

 

Before joining BMO, Ernie was EVP of Customer Strategy and Integration at Fidelity Investments, and held senior positions at CIBC, including SVP of Marketing and Strategy, and SVP of Credit Cards.

 

Ernie serves on the board of directors of the U.S. Consumer Bankers Association, as well as on the board and executive committee for the Canadian Banking Association. She previously served on the boards of Payments Canada and Moneris Solutions Corporation, and was chair of the Canadian Marketing Association. American Banker magazine has included Ernie on its list of the Most Powerful Women in Banking since 2019. In 2020, Forbes named her one of the 13 Women Changing the Money Industry not Even the Coronavirus can Stop, and in 2022 she was named to Women Inc.’s list of the Most Influential Women Executives in Corporate America.

Dan leads the U.S. Corporate Finance Group, which represents about half of the Commercial Bank. Corporate Finance includes Asset-Based Lending, Dealer Finance, Equipment Finance, Financial Institutions, Franchise Finance, Sponsor Finance, Sponsor Fund Lending and Community Investments.

 

He previously served as managing director and head of Merrill Lynch Capital's corporate finance unit where he led a team dedicated to providing cash flow, asset-based, junior secured and mezzanine financing solutions to middle market companies. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, Dan spent 17 years with Heller Financial, most recently as group president of corporate finance with similar responsibilities to Merrill Lynch but also included equity investments and mergers & acquisitions advisory activities.

 

Dan has a bachelor's degree in Finance and Marketing from Northern Illinois University and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Victor Tung is the U.S. Chief Technology and Operations Officer (U.S. CTOO) and Chief Operating Officer, Technology and Operations (COO T&O) for BMO Financial Group. He leads a global team that is responsible for transformation and integration across Technology and Operations. His mandate also includes the development and implementation of technology solutions for the bank's corporate and international banking areas.

 

In Victor's capacity as U.S. Chief Technology and Operations Officer, he is responsible for the strategic and operational governance processes of the U.S. T&O organization to ensure it is consistent with Enterprise direction and operates in alignment with the U.S. Governance model.

 

Victor is a graduate of the Rotman Executive Masters of Business Administration program, holds an Honours Business Administration degree from the University of Toronto Scarborough, has a Certificate in Human Resource Management from Woodsworth College and earned his Global Professional Master of Laws from the University of Toronto's Faculty of Law in 2015.

 

Victor is well known as a respected thought leader in the technology industry and has been recognized as one of Canada's Top 40 Under 40.

 

George Walz is Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer at BMO Financial Corp. As Chief Compliance Officer, George is responsible for the overall strategic leadership, oversight and performance of BMO’s U.S. compliance program.

 

Prior to joining BMO in 2014, George was Vice President and Head of the Office of Risk and the Office of Regulatory Programs at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in Washington DC. He oversaw FINRA’s risk management function and the development of regulatory programs used by FINRA in its risk based examination programs of business conduct, financial risks and market conduct areas covering U.S. securities regulations.

 

George has served as a technical expert on risk based supervision of financial intermediaries for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank on projects with regulators to strengthen risk based supervision in countries in Latin America and Africa.

 

George graduated in Finance from Loyola University of Chicago.

Ray leads the U.S. Diversified Industry Group which provides commercial banking services to private and public companies in a variety of industries, commercial real estate entities, government and municipalities, schools, social services organizations, and culture institutions. He is also accountable for developing and implementing the line of business strategy, building new customer relationships, and the overall financial performance of the business.

 

Since joining BMO in June 1986, Ray has worked extensively with both publicly held, equity sponsor owned, and privately held companies in a wide range of industries. Prior to rejoining the commercial bank in 2007, he was responsible for investment banking coverage activities in the Commercial and Industrial Group of BMO Capital Markets. He focused on raising public and private equity and debt, M&A engagements, structured finance, and lead syndicated loan transactions for clients and prospects throughout the United States.

 

Ray has a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Miami University.

 

Ray also serves on the board of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

Ann Marie Wright is the U.S. Chief Risk Officer for BMO Financial Group. In this role, she is responsible for ensuring that the organization is effectively identifying and managing the risks in the business and legal entities through which it operates in the U.S. She provides independent review and oversight of risk issues for leadership and fosters a strong risk culture across the U.S.

 

Most recently, Ann Marie was U.S. Chief Auditor and previously served as Chief Operating Officer for the North American Commercial Bank. She began her career at BMO Financial Group 15 years ago and has held numerous progressive roles including: Senior Audit Manager in the Corporate Audit Division; Managing Director - Business Manager, U.S. Investment Banking; Managing Director - Business Intelligence; and Managing and Director/Head - Capital Markets Compliance and Supervision. Prior to joining BMO, Ann Marie held credit/portfolio management roles at Bank of America and GE Capital.

 

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. She also holds the Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) designation.

 

She is a Board Member of Children Home & Aid Society of Illinois and The Chicago Foundation for Women, and also serves as Co-Chair of BMO’s Leadership Council for Inclusion and Diversity.