George Walz is senior vice president and U.S. chief compliance officer at BMO Financial Group. He is responsible for the strategy, leadership, and oversight of BMO’s compliance risk management programs within U.S. operations. Prior to joining BMO in 2014, Walz was vice president and head of the Offices of Risk and Regulatory Programs at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in Washington, D.C. He oversaw FINRA’s efforts to identify, prioritize, measure and monitor key risks of broker-dealers and risks to FINRA’s mandate of investor protection and market integrity, and also oversaw the development of policies, procedures and regulatory programs to address business conduct risk, financial risks and market conduct areas in U.S. securities regulations.
Walz’s expertise is sought after by global organizations like the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and International Organization of Securities Commissions, where he serves as a technical expert on risk-based supervision of financial intermediaries. He has worked on various projects and initiatives whether it’s working with regulators to strengthen risk-based supervision in countries throughout Central and South America or delivering educational workshops in Africa and Europe.
His family was impacted by the disease and he is dedicated to contributing to the advancement of Alzheimer’s research in search of a cure.
Walz was elected to the board of directors in 2019.