Sharon O’Sullivan

Global Head, Technology Research & Innovation, BMO

Sharon O’Sullivan is currently the Head of Technology Research & Innovation for BMO Financial Group. Founded in Montreal and headquartered in Toronto, with over CAD$1 trillion in assets, BMO is one of the ten largest banks in North America.

Sharon leads the bank’s digital innovation strategy. She collaborates with partners internally and externally to understand, experiment and adopt disruptive technologies like Ai, blockchain and quantum computing for growth. Previously, Sharon led the Information Technology function, overseeing the risk & governance for BMO’s digital first domains (data, Ai, robotics and digital security, etc.). Sharon joined BMO in 2019, after leading technology transformation strategies and Ai practice at CIBC for over 19 years.

Sharon is an active participant in the start-up community. She advises on several technology innovation-oriented organizations, including the University of Waterloo’s Ai Lab, and the University of Toronto’s Entrepreneurship Hatchery. Sharon is also an active mentor and an investor in early stage tech start-ups.

Beyond finance and technology, Sharon is deeply connected in the healthcare sector, working with public-private mental healthcare partnerships supporting some of the most vulnerable in our community.

Sharon holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Business with a concentration in Corporate Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions, and a Global Executive MBA from SDA Bocconi School of Business in Milan.

In a mentor capacity, Sharon can assist with the business strategies, value propositions, market fit, and the understanding of environment and approach, particularly when targeting institutional clients within financial and healthcare sectors (organizational and regulatory).