BMO Capital Markets Adds Two MDs

BMO Capital Markets hired two managing directors as part of its expansion efforts in the U.S.

In Chicago, Scott Humphrey has been named executive managing director and head of U.S. Mergers & Acquisitions. In Houston, Tod Benton joined the firm as managing director and head of the firm's Energy & Power Group. Both have extensive industry experience.

BMO Capital Markets Co-President Tom Milroy said the hires should help the firm "accelerate our growth in the U.S., a key priority for 2007." Milroy said he expects the pace of M&A activity to continue. Eric Tripp, the firm's other co-president, said Benton's hiring reflects the firm's "high expectations for the future of the energy sector."

Humphrey will oversee more than 20 M&A professionals based in key client centers including Chicago, New York and Houston. He will also work closely with BMO Capital's M&A Group in Canada to help clients with cross-border strategies. He joins the firm from Deutsche Bank, where he was most recently managing director and lead senior banker for the Chicago M&A Group. He joined Deutsche from BT Wolfensohn and is a graduate of the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Benton will manage the BMO Capital Market's more than 35 professionals in the energy and power business. He also joins from Deutsche Bank, where he was managing director and head of corporate banking for the Energy, Utility and Chemical Industry Group. Previously, he worked at JPMorgan. Benton earned his MBA from the University of Houston and a bachelor's degree from Youngstown State University in Ohio.