BMO Harris Bank announced this week the appointment of Anthony Hudson as Regional President, Retail Banking, Wisconsin. He replaces Sang Kim, who has been appointed Head of BMO’s U.S. Customer Contact Center. Based in Milwaukee, Hudson will report to Carolyn Booth, Head of Distribution, U.S. Personal and Business Banking.
“I’m really humbled with this promotion,” Hudson told Madison365 in an interview. “I started out in banking right out of undergrad, and I was committed to working my tail off and always being open to coaching. I was blessed to have some phenomenal coaches throughout my entire career. I joined BMO eight years ago because I thought this organization was different in how they treated their people. How they supported their people and ultimately how they advanced their people through their career journey.”
Throughout his eight years with BMO, Hudson has held roles in Premier Banking and Private Wealth, leading teams in Southwest and Northwest Wisconsin. Most recently, Anthony led a key pillar of BMO EMpower, BMO’s five year, $5 billion commitment to address barriers faced by minority businesses, communities and families. Hudson will continue supporting diversity initiatives at the bank to help grow the business and acquire new talent.
BMO announced this week that it was expanding the program nationwide after a successful pilot got $11 million into the hands of more than 260 Black and Latinx entrepreneurs.
“I couldn’t be more excited to see this come to Wisconsin and make this a priority for us,” Hudson said of the EMpower program. He said he believes there is a large number of Black and Latinx-owned startups ready to take the next step. “We just have to find them and support them in a way that allows them not just to navigate, but to come out on the other side of this really thriving,” he said.
Hudson said he believes Wisconsin is ready to embrace diversity and equity, too.
“There is a readiness and willingness today to say, ‘We’re going to be different. We’re going to do different,’” he said. “So, what I would say is, when you ask about the next five and 10 years, it’s about how we lock arms and actually execute on one common agenda to take this state higher. I think we’re poised to do that.”
Hudson has worked closely with many non-profit organizations in Southern Wisconsin to help close the wealth gap that often exists in minority communities. He serves on the executive board for City Year Milwaukee, the Girls and Boys Club of Dane County and the Madison Urban League.
He was a 2017 recipient of the Milwaukee Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 award, a 2020 recipient of In Business (Madison) magazine’s 40 Under 40 award and a recipient of Who’s Who in Black Charlotte in both 2011 and 2012. He was named to Madison365’s Black Power List in 2019.
Hudson received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Xavier University. In 2016, he completed an executive banking program through the Consumer Bankers Association at Furman University.
He emphasized the importance of coaching and mentorship on his way up the corporate ladder, and offered some advice for young folks coming up.
“There’s no substitute for hard work,” he said. “What I would continue to message that young person, and it would be a message to young people today, is patience is important. You have to give yourself enough time, be patient with yourself enough to truly master the space that you’re in. Then, I’ll couple that with not being afraid to take risks.
