BMO Capital Markets Appoints Vice-Chairs of U.S. Investment and Corporate Banking

    -   BMO Capital Markets continues to hire talent to expand in the U.S.
    -   BMO Capital Markets has hired more than 350 professionals globally
        since January 2009, with plans for continued expansion

CHICAGO and NEW YORK, April 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - BMO Capital Markets, the investment and corporate banking arm of BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TSX: BMO), is pleased to announce the appointments of Vice-Chairs Ken Tuchman and Chuck Adair. Their appointments are effective immediately.

Mr. Tuchman, who is a 30-year Wall Street investment banking veteran, and Mr. Adair, who has been with BMO for nearly 25 years, will concentrate on C-suite and board-level relationships and focus on strategic dialogue. They will report to Perry Hoffmeister, BMO's new Head of U.S. Investment and Corporate Banking.

"The appointments of Ken and Chuck, in addition to the 50 other senior partners who have joined BMO Capital Markets in the U.S. over the last year, signify our determination to put our clients first and to capitalize on market opportunities," said Bill Butt, Global Head of Investment and Corporate Banking. "BMO Capital Markets is well-positioned to grow our U.S. business and take advantage of new opportunities as the U.S. economic outlook improves," he added.

Ken Tuchman has advised on transactions totaling more than $200 billion during his career. Most recently, he was Vice-Chairman at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, where he focused on investment banking in the consumer and retail sector. Previously, he was Chairman of Global Banking for the Americas at Dresdner Kleinwort Ltd. (Wasserstein Perella Group). He has advisory experience which includes acquisitions, divestitures, take-over defense and restructurings. Mr. Tuchman is also a veteran board member, who has worked with management teams to facilitate growth, funding and competitive positioning, using growth and buy-and-sell strategies.

Mr. Tuchman holds an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, a J.D. from The Law School at the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. from State University of New York in Buffalo.

Chuck Adair, a long-time BMO Capital Markets executive in the M&A Group, is one of the founders of BMO's Food & Consumer group. He headed up the Harris Capital Markets Group, which became the nucleus of BMO's Chicago-based Investment and Corporate Banking platform 15 years ago. In addition, Mr. Adair founded and continues to lead BMO's Food & Agribusiness M&A practice. Throughout his career, he has focused on prospects in North America and Europe, leading many transactions including deals for U.S. Sugar, Darling International and Sturm Foods.

Mr. Adair holds an M.S. from Michigan State University and a B.A. from North Park University.

About BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets is a leading, full-service North American financial services provider, with over 2,200 employees operating in 15 North American offices and 28 worldwide, offering corporate, institutional and government clients access to a complete range of investment and corporate banking products and services. BMO Capital Markets is a member of BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TSX: BMO), one of the largest diversified financial services providers in North America with US$373 billion total assets and more than 36,000 employees as at January 31, 2010.

SOURCE BMO Capital Markets