BMO Financial Group announced today the appointments of Dr. Martha Piper and George Cope to its board of directors.

Piper served as the eleventh President and Vice Chancellor of The University of British Columbia from 1997 until the end of June 2006. Prior to this she served as Dean of the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Alberta and was appointed Vice President Research in 1993. The latter portfolio was expanded in 1995 to include External Affairs.

Piper is a member of the boards of directors of The Conference Board of Canada, the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation and PrioNet Canada, and is Public Governor of the Board for the Canadian Academies of Science.

Cope is president and COO, Bell Canada, and was president and CEO, TELUS Mobility. Prior to this he served as president and CEO of Clearnet Communications for 13 years.

Cope is a member of the board of directors of NII Holdings, Inc. (formerly Nextel International) and The Advisory Board of the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, and has served on numerous business, industry association and charitable boards.