Robert W. (Rob) Pearce was appointed to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer, Personal & Commercial Client Group effective October 1, 2002. He is responsible for all personal and commercial banking services in Canada. Mr. Pearce also serves on BMO Financial Group's ten-member Management Board Executive Committee.

His previous leadership role was as President, Personal and Commercial Banking Distribution, where he was responsible for distribution of personal and commercial banking services throughout Canada, specifically BMO Bank of Montreal branches (including in-store locations), telephone and internet banking.

Prior to that, Mr. Pearce was Executive Vice-President, North American Electronic Banking Services and was responsible for the MasterCard Cardholder and Merchant Services lines of business, the debit card business and emerging new technologies in Electronic Banking.

After graduating with a Masters of Business Administration from University of British Columbia, Mr. Pearce joined the bank in 1980. He progressed through a series of postings in domestic branches, receiving his first executive appointment in May 1989 as Vice-President, Personal Loans and Mortgages. He also held the position of Vice-President, Public Affairs from May 1992 through 1994. Subsequently he became Senior Vice-President, Personal & Commercial Services, responsible for the strategy development, product management and marketing to individuals and small-to-medium size enterprises in Canada.

Mr. Pearce is Chair of the Executive Council of the Canadian Bankers Association and a director and member of the Audit & Compensation Committees of MasterCard International. His community involvement includes directorships at CanadaHelps.org and Kids Help Phone.