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BMO inspires young leaders with Girls Belong Here

As BMO celebrates International Day of the Girl on October 11, and works to foster a society with zero barriers to inclusion, we are marking our third year as lead sponsor of Plan International Canada’s Girls Belong Here program.

The Girls Belong Here program places young women in positions of leadership, power and influence for a day. Throughout the fall and into 2021, executives from across the organization will “step down” to allow a young woman to take their role for the day virtually. With a special focus on intersectionality, BMO is actively filling seat shares with BIPOC youth.

“For our company and industry to grow, we need leadership that delivers and represents a diverse perspective, and we’ve seen firsthand the benefits of elevating women to senior roles across our organization,” said Karen Collins, Chief Talent Officer, BMO Financial Group. “Growing inclusion in the corporate world for women starts with exposing future leaders – especially BIPOC youth – to career paths and stoking their ambition to reach their full potential. That is why we’re proud to continue our support of the Girls Belong Here program, and take action every day to reach zero barriers to inclusion.”

Beginning today, BMO’s first seat share will see a young woman taking the reigns in Technology and Operations (T&O), sharing the seat of Antonio Novillo, Chief Information and Operations Officer, BMO Capital Markets T&O. Future pairings will include Erminia (Ernie) Johannson, Group Head, North American Personal and Business Banking and David Casper, U.S. Chief Executive Officer.

With this year’s seat shares, BMO has hosted fifteen young women leaders over three years, shadowing our CEO, Darryl White, and a host of executives from across the bank in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K.

Watch Antonio Novillo describe why he thinks supporting young women is more important than ever, and the video of our women’s leadership roundtable with the 2019 participants and female executives from across the bank.

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