Head of U.S. Personal & Business Banking
and access,
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. She has an undergraduate degree from McGill University and holds an MBA in Services from Dalhousie University.