The Board of Directors of BMO Financial Group today announced the appointment of David Galloway as chairman of the Board, effective May 1.

Tony Comper remains Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board. He has also been appointed president.

The decision by the board to separate the roles of chairman and CEO was announced by Comper at BMO’s annual meeting in February.

Galloway has been a member of the BMO’s board since 1998, and serves on the organization’s Risk Review Committee and the Human Resources and Management Compensation Committee. He is also a director of Harris Financial Corp., and serves on its Risk Oversight Committee.

Galloway is the former President and CEO of Torstar Corp. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, and also serves on the boards of E. W. Scripps Company, Toromont Industries Ltd. and Hudson’s Bay Company.

“I look forward to my new role, and to continuing to work with the talented group of fellow directors and management team, as BMO continues its successful strategy of creating a top- performing North American financial services company,” said Galloway in a news release.

After 33 years of dedicated service as a director of Bank of Montreal, the past seven as lead director, Blair MacAulay is scheduled to retire at next year’s annual meeting.

In light of his upcoming retirement, MacAulay and the BMO board determined that it is the appropriate time to split the roles of chairman and CEO.

“In 1997, BMO Financial Group was the first Canadian bank to appoint a Lead Director to ensure that the board would operate independently of management. I want to acknowledge Blair MacAulay’s major contribution to the Board in this capacity,” said Comper.