Bill Downe, CEO of BMO Nesbitt Burns., is the recipient of the 2003 Rotman Distinguished Business Alumni Award from the University of Toronto’s Joseph L. Rotman School of Management. He will be honoured during a dinner at the Rotman School on October 16.

Downe, an MBA graduate of U of T, is also deputy chair of BMO Financial Group.

“We are delighted to honour Bill Downe this year for his achievements on the international stage from a base in Canada. Bill has been instrumental in BMO Financial Group’s substantial expansion in high-growth U.S. markets, where it is the number one Canadian bank in the U.S. based on assets. At the Rotman School we believe that future prosperity for Canadians will be highly dependent on the ability of companies in all sectors to compete and grow on the international stage,” said Dean Roger Martin, in a news release.

Born in Montreal in 1952, Downe completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Waterloo Lutheran University, and went on to obtain an MBA from the University of Toronto in 1978. He joined Bank of Montreal in 1983 in Toronto as a credit analyst, and went on to hold a variety of senior management positions in corporate and government Banking in Houston, Denver, and Chicago.

In 1992, he was named senior VP, U.S. corporate banking. In 1996 he was appointed executive VP, North American corporate banking, and in 1998 he took on responsibility for global fixed income and global treasury. In 1999, Downe was appointed vice chair of Bank of Montreal, and in 2001, he was appointed a deputy chair of BMO Financial Group and CEO of BMO Nesbitt Burns.

In September 2002, he assumed responsibility for all U.S. operations, including Harris Bank, BMO’s Chicago-based retail banking operation. Dividing his time between Toronto and Chicago, Downe oversees both the investment banking group and the private client group, and is responsible for all of the businesses in BMO Financial Group in Canada and the U.S. directed at corporate, institutional, and individual investing clients.

Downe is a member of the board of directors of St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, where he served as chair of the audit committee and is currently active on the business services and audit committees.

He has been active in coaching youth hockey and baseball and enjoys spending time with his three grown sons.