IMF Managing Director Appoints Romy Bowers as Director of the Office of Risk Management

IMF News, October 27, 2023

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Canonical URL: IMF Managing Director Appoints Romy Bowers as Director of the Office of Risk Management

Press Release No. 23/363
Date: October 27, 2023
Managing Director: Kristalina Georgieva announced her intention to appoint Ms. Romy Bowers as Director of the Office of Risk Management (ORM).
Succession: Ms. Bowers will succeed Brenda Boultwood.
Expected start date: January 8, 2024.

Nationality: Canadian.
Public sector experience:
- For the past three years, President and Chief Executive Officer of Canada’s Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)—a public agency managing over US$250 billion in assets.
- Held a number of other key positions at CMHC over a span of nine years, beginning in 2015 as the agency’s Chief Risk Officer tasked with leading transformational change.
- Contributions at CMHC: helped modernize CMHC’s risk management function, improve its risk management practices, and strengthen its risk culture.
Private sector experience:
- Served as Managing Director and Head of US Operational Risk Management at the Bank of Montreal (BMO) Financial Group, described as the eight largest financial institution in North America.
- Spent 15 years at BMO holding senior positions in finance and risk management.
- Managerial successes included developing and implementing strategic initiatives that enhanced BMO’s enterprise risk management, stress testing, organizational resilience, and operational risk management capabilities.
Total professional experience: more than 20 years in both the public and private sectors.

Rationale: Appointment made during a "period of heightened uncertainty" that "demands robust risk management practices" as the IMF works to support its membership.
Managing Director’s statement: Kristalina Georgieva said, “I am delighted to announce the appointment of Romy Bowers as Director of the Office of Risk Management,” and “I have informed the Executive Board of my intention to proceed with this appointment.”
Confidence: Ms. Georgieva expressed confidence that Ms. Bowers, with “a proven track record of developing innovative solutions to complex problems, and deep expertise in financial services risk management,” is the right person to lead ORM and to collaborate with departments and the Board to further strengthen the Fund’s risk practices and culture.

MBA in Finance from the University of Toronto.
Master’s in Arts from McGill University in Canada.
Completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts.

Source: IMF press release dated October 27, 2023.