Karen E. Maidment is chief financial and administrative officer of BMO Financial Group reporting to the president and chief executive officer. She also serves on the bank's Management Committee.

Ms. Maidment is responsible for BMO Financial Group’s financial strategy, financial reporting and planning, taxation, treasury, investor relations, legal and compliance, corporate communications, economics, and enterprise risk and portfolio management.

Ms. Maidment began her career in 1981 with Clarkson Gordon and in 1988 joined Clarica Life Insurance Company, formerly Mutual Life of Canada. Prior to joining BMO Financial Group, Ms. Maidment was chief financial officer at Clarica, playing a leadership role in the demutualization of the company and in the first initial public offering in Canada for demutualized insurers. Ms. Maidment joined BMO in October 2000 as executive vice-president and chief financial officer and was appointed senior executive vice-president in 2003.

Ms. Maidment graduated from Galt Collegiate Institute in 1977 and holds a bachelor of commerce degree from McMaster University. She became a chartered accountant in 1983 and was made a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in early 2000.

She is married with two sons and lives in Cambridge, Ontario. Active in community affairs, Ms. Maidment has served as president, Canadian Federation of University Women and Waterloo-Wellington Chartered Accountants Association, and served on the Board of Cambridge Chamber of Commerce. In 2001, Ms. Maidment received the YWCA Women of Distinction Award and for three consecutive years Ms. Maidment was included in the Financial Post's “Power 50” list of top Canadian businesswomen. She is currently honorary chair of the Easter Seals’ Ball.

In February 2004, she was honoured by McGill University with their Management Achievement Award in recognition of outstanding Canadian business leadership and personal community involvement. In April 2004, Ms. Maidment received the Wayne C. Fox Distinguished Alumni Award from McMaster University's Michael G. Degroote School of Business.

In May 2006, Ms. Maidment was named Canada’s CFO of the Year, an award developed in 2001 by Financial Executives International Canada (FEI Canada) and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, in association with Caldwell Partners International Inc.

(June 2007)

K. Maidment (high resolution picture, jpg, 188k)