World-leading banking innovator Claudette McGowan is one of the leading participants being featured in this year’s staging of Tech Beach to be held in Montego Bay December 5-7.

McGowan is the chief information officer for Bank of Montreal and has been integral in the organisation’s recognition as one of the leading technology-focused financial service entities in the world.

Bank of Montreal (more popularly known as BMO Financial Group) is the eighth largest bank in North America, trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with a market cap of CA$63 billion, annual revenues topping CA$23 billion and total assets topping CA$600 billion.

McGowan is a global information technology leader with more than 17 years of success leading digital transformations and designing new approaches that improve service experiences. She has worked in the technology industry for organisations such as Deloitte, Metropolitan Police Services, North York General Hospital and Bank of Montreal.

Her career at BMO Financial Group started in 2000 and has grown to its current state which places her as the current chief information officer for Enterprise Technology Employee Experience.

She has written and published five books and is the founder of the Black Arts & Innovation Expo. McGowan holds a bachelor of arts and a master of business administration.

In 2018, she was recognised as one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada. In 2019, she was also the recipient of two prestigious awards: an AdWeek Magazine Toronto Brand Star and the Digital Finance Institute honoured her as one of the Top 50 Canadian Women in FinTech.

McGowan is a well established business leader with a strong presence, who is called on to speak all over the world. She led a fireside chat with former United States First Lady Michelle Obama at this year’s Elevate event in Canada.

With Jamaica’s increased focus on innovation in the banking industry, McGowan is seen as a timely fit and potential resource for the local sector.

She is of Jamaican heritage and Tech Beach serves as a homecoming event of sorts for her and many other diaspora members who view the platform as one they can leverage to assist the local ecosystem and develop partnerships for future business. For many of these diaspora members, a conference environment like Tech Beach is a necessity for Jamaica’s emergence as a centre for innovation.

Tech Beach focuses on creating a safe space for local brilliance to connect with their global counterparts with a focus on meaningful outcomes and profitable relationships.