Gilles Ouellette 2021 Investment Industry Hall of Fame Inductee

Gilles entered the investment industry in 1979 after three years teaching investment management at the University of Western Ontario and owning a small business. From 1979 to 1983, he built a successful career at Burns Fry Limited and then assumed progressively senior roles leading to his appointment as Executive Vice-President of Burns Fry Limited in 1993.

Following the 1994 merger of Nesbitt Thomson Inc. and Burns Fry Limited, Gilles was appointed Executive Vice-President, Private Client Division, and in 1997, he was named Director of the Private Client Division and Vice Chairman of Nesbitt Burns. In 2001 he was appointed Group Head of BMO Financial Group’s Wealth Management, leading the significant expansion of BMO’s wealth business, building its reputation for excellence, customer centricity and innovation. His leadership of BMO’s presence in China and the acquisition of U.K. money manager F&C Asset Management in 2014 speak to his passion for capturing emergent opportunities.

In 2015, Gilles was appointed Group Head, BMO Asset Management, and Vice-Chair, International, where he defined strategic goals to maximize customer and shareholder value for the bank and ensured the appropriate governance and risk management frameworks were well embedded to mitigate risk. Since 2019 he has served as Chairman of BMO Asset Management, leading the 10 boards in place across BMO’s asset management business, which offers investment products and solutions to institutional, retail and high net worth investors from more than 20 offices around the world.

Gilles has served on several influential boards in the financial industry and in his community, including the Canadian Institute of Advanced Research, the C.D. Howe Institute, the Advisory Board of the Ivey Business School, and the Art Gallery of Ontario Foundation Board of Trustees.

Gilles holds an undergraduate degree and a Master of Business Administration from Western University.

IIAC Website:
https://halloffame.iiac.ca/

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