Managing Director

The Role

Working title (confidential): Head of Equity & Derivatives ETF Market Making — though scope shouldn’t be artificially limited to that; fixed income and broader derivatives build-out sit under this too.

• Most senior person on the ETF side in the US; owns the entire US desk
• Reports to Matt
• Existing function leaders (e.g. Jimmy) stay in place and report into this hire
• Post-hire: works with Matt on a Europe/Asia expansion plan
• Longer-term goal for this person: become a key leader Matt can rely on to build multiple businesses, not just run one

Why This Role Exists / Business Context

• BMO is a genuinely centralized trading business — one leadership team across asset classes (Matt built this, modeled loosely on a Citadel-style setup)
• Partners with internal capital markets groups but isn’t held hostage to internal flow — trades with everyone, functions effectively like a buy-side operation
• Matt has personally fought off internal politics to keep this structure intact
• CRB [confirm — full name/meaning] is becoming a serious business line in Canada
• SS MM [confirm — systematic strategies market making?] is becoming its own vertical
• Some systematic trading is already run by Matt
• In the US: a hire referred to as “Lavent” [confirm spelling] moved into rates and BMO is now the #2 rates business in the US market
• Heavy ongoing investment in derivatives
• Derivative-based ETFs are taking off — seen as an offshoot of equity ETF market making

Competitive Landscape

• In Canada, the two real bulge-bracket players are BMO and National Bank — both have built strong MM businesses there
• BMO’s US approach is comparatively less political than National Bank’s
• National Bank Financial (NBF) is building out under someone named Damon [confirm] — doesn’t have the #1 US rates business; BMO’s platform is bigger and more global on a relative basis
• BMO already has some name recognition in Canada from a “zero to built” trajectory — visible in trading volumes

Candidate Profile

• Has done this before in the US — proven track record, not a first-timer
• Someone who can inspire confidence beyond their own desk — the business needs someone who excites people and is credibly able to build again
• Smarter than Matt on the trading/engineering side, but also able to communicate and build relationships — a rare combination
• Ideally has range across fixed income, equity, and derivatives — very few people have done all of this
• Doesn’t need to actively trade personally — the value is in building the group and shaping business plans
• Not a distribution/sales profile — that’s a separate role. (Note: Ryan Szack was discussed as a strong fit for a distribution hire — excellent with buy-side clients and capital markets, lights up that side of the business, but not technical/building. Good for sales, not this role.)

Compensation

• MD base: $350k
• Total comp is candidate-dependent — hard to fix a number
• Would be surprised if the right person came in under $1.5–2m
• Candidates in the $2–3m range are likely above current budget — expect some negotiation/variance around that band
• Priority: hire someone already compensated near that level rather than someone who needs a big step-up