and Darryl White. Presidents President was the highest-ranking position at the bank from its founding until the middle of the twentieth century, however this was superseded by chief executive officer in 1959, beginning with G. Arnold Hart. Several of his successors as President were CEO as well, however Matthew W. Barrett was the first top executive not to be styled president. John Gray (1817 to 1820); co-founder and first president Samuel Gerrard (1820 to 1826) Horatio Gates (1826); co-founder and president John Molson (1826 to 1834) Peter McGill (1834 to 1860) Thomas Brown Anderson (1860 to 1869) Edwin Henry King (1869 to 1873) David Torrance (1873 to 1876) George Stephen (1876 to 1881) C. F. Smithers (1881 to 1887) Donald Smith (1887 to 1905) George Alexander Drummond (1905 to 1910) Richard B. Angus (1910 to 1913) Sir Vincent Meredith (1913 to 1927) Sir Charles Blair Gordon (1927 to 1939) Huntly Redpath Drummond (1939 to 1942) George Wilbur Spinney (1942 to 1948) Bertie Charles Gardner (1948 to 1952) Gordon Ball (1952 to 1959) G. Arnold Hart (president from 1959 to 1967 and CEO from 1959 to 1974) Fred McNeil (CEO from 1975 to 1979) William D. Mulholland (CEO from 1979 to 1989) William E. Bradford (president 1981-1983) Matthew W. Barrett (president from 1987 to 1990 and CEO from 1990–1999) F. Anthony Comper (CEO from 1999 to 2007) Bill Downe (from 1 March 2007 to 31 October 2017) Chief Executive Officers Since the middle of the twentieth century, the senior officer of Bank of Montreal has been styled President and chief executive officer beginning with G. Arnold Hart. That officer often also held the title chairman of the board, until 2003 when a non-executive chairman was appointed. The title of the second-ranking executive has changed several times and has often been left vacant. As deputy to Matthew Barrett, F. Anthony Comper was President and chief operating officer from 1990 to 1999, after which he became chairman and CEO while retaining the title of President. During most of Anthony Comper's tenure as CEO, while there was no official "number two" executive, the CEO of BMO Capital Markets (the investment banking division) was largely considered the second-most powerful officer. Bill Downe ascended from CEO of BMO Capital to chief operating officer of the BMO group, but held the title only for one-year until he succeeded Comper as President and CEO in 2007. Darryl White