BMO Financial Group CEO Darryl White, HBA ’94, LLD ’23, was honoured at the 34th annual Ivey Business Leader Award dinner in Toronto, where a record $1.4 million was raised for student bursaries.
The award recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to the advancement of business in Canada and who demonstrate leadership in both their organizations and their communities. More than 700 leaders, alumni, and friends of Ivey gathered at Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York Hotel for the dinner, with proceeds helping fund bursaries for HBA students each academic year.
In his remarks, White looked back on more than three decades of change in business and banking, from the early days of electronic transactions to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). But his central message was that leadership, not technology, remains the defining force.
“The technology has changed. The lesson has not,” he said.
White argued that every wave of innovation brings the same core challenge: how leaders choose to use it.
“The better question is, what will we choose to do with it?” he said.
White said leaders cannot delegate technology entirely to specialists, underscoring that technology shapes opportunity, but leadership shapes outcomes.
White said AI is not just a technology challenge, but also a risk-management challenge and, ultimately, a leadership challenge. Leaders, he said, do not need to write the code, but they do need to understand the opportunities, risks, and responsibilities involved in deploying it at scale.
“Good judgment remains the first and strongest line of defence,” he said.
Throughout his remarks, White emphasized the idea of stewardship, a word he said is not used often enough.
“The goal of stewardship is not to leave a personal monument,” he said. “It is to leave the institution stronger, more relevant, more capable, and no less worthy of trust.”
He said responsible AI must be rooted in clear accountability and human oversight.
“Responsibility enables trust,” he said. “Trust enables adoption … And adoption is what turns innovation into impact.”
White closed by pointing to the enduring role of leaders and institutions in shaping what comes next.
“Get the data. Understand the change. Ask better questions. Exercise judgment. Earn trust. Bring people with you,” he said.
Related Articles
