Managing Director and Group Head, BMO Harris Corporate Advisory
For Caroline Donlin, as for many bankers, the pandemic brought with it a new responsibility: Paycheck Protection Program loans.
Donlin, who advises businesses on mergers and acquisitions and on growth strategies, also runs BMO Harris Bank’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan group, and she had been monitoring the pandemic-relief legislation to see how it would affect ESOPs. But she had never worked with the Small Business Administration’s lending systems, and the bank had just two people who had. Within 11 days, the group working on PPP loans expanded to 400 people.
During the project, Donlin was seven months pregnant with her first child. “The CEO joked I would name her E-Tran, the name of the SBA lending system that was so problematic,” Donlin laughed. She went on maternity leave just as the loan-forgiveness process was beginning, and came back to work in time for the second round of the program. In total, the commercial bank processed $755 million in PPP funding for 1,450 companies. Working on PPP was “far and away the proudest thing I’ve ever done,” she said.
Donlin started out in investment banking after getting her MBA at the University of Chicago, switching to commercial banking seven years ago. “I was looking for a way to continue to be customer facing; that’s where I get my energy from,” she said. “The way I work with them is generally on their highest-level issues that go to the top of the house, that they don’t have a lot of time to think about on a daily basis.” That includes succession, M&A and how to build a legacy for businesses that, in some cases, their grandparents started. (Best deal toy she’s received: a customized Louisville Slugger baseball bat, for a deal that was “a home run.”)
In 2021, when major changes to the tax laws were under discussion in Washington, the bank’s communications to clients mainly focused on how individuals should prepare. Donlin came up with a plan to create materials to explain to business owners what impact the changes would have on their companies. Working with the bank’s wealth management arm, she helped generate content, including authoring several pieces herself that were widely disseminated.
“Caroline is highly respected at BMO, where she and her team play a critical role advising business owners on key decisions related to buyside M&A transactions, liquidity events and ownership transactions,” said Dave Casper, BMO’s U.S. CEO and group head of North American commercial banking, who nominated Donlin. “A mentor to many, she plays a leadership role within BMO, not only on her team, but throughout our commercial bank.”
As a mentor, Donlin said, she has helped junior bankers plot their ascension into sales roles. She also makes a point to learn from colleagues. Early in the PPP process, Donlin reached out to fellow managing director Todd Senger, who runs the adjacent Diversified Industries group, to ask some questions about the new customer submission process. It was late on a Friday night, and Senger offered to convene his leadership team at 7:30 the next morning to discuss the issue with her.
“This situation taught me that a leader doesn't have to have all the answers,” Donlin said. “Assembling a team of passionate individuals who feel comfortable challenging each other and sharing ideas is truly what makes a leader powerful.”
