Independent Advisor, Sustainable Finance and Investment

As BMO's inaugural Head of Sustainable Finance & Capital Markets ESG Lead, Manju Seal established and led the Sustainable Finance Advisory with corporate and institutional clients, incorporating ESG criteria in investments and financing while charting a path towards improved sustainability. Steered firmwide efforts as a member of Fixed Income Sales Desk and then Debt Capital Markets Desk in preparing the enterprise and Capital Markets Division towards the public adoption of sustainable finance/ESG as a new line of business. Member of the firmwide BMO Sustainability Council. Project Lead for launching BMO’s Sustainable Bond Program (2019), BMO's sustainability bond issuance USD$500 MM (2019), as well as a key contributor towards BMO’s public sustainable finance commitment (2019).

She advised clients in identifying impactful solutions around sustainable bond underwriting, product development and other sustainable financing activities. She co-authored BMO’s Sustainable Financing Framework (a first for Canada). Her expertise in sustainable finance products, including, Green/Social/Transition Bonds & Sustainability-Linked Loans as well as socially responsible investing positioned her to engage with both issuers and investors. She spearheaded the broader Enterprise-wide strategy and thought-leadership around sustainable finance and ESG investment considerations. She was the original co-host of the award-winning BMO Sustainability Leaders Podcast Series, ICMA’s Transition Finance & Sustainability-Linked Bond Working Groups, and CSA’s Technical Committee on Transition & Sustainable Finance.

Manju extensive leadership experience ranging from institutional asset management, capital markets (investment banking, trading), social/environmental impact organizations to board leadership. Since 2003, she has provided transformative leadership and corporate governance to nonprofits/social enterprises focused on climate change/environment/social impact. Her first leadership engagement with climate change began in 2008. Her investment banking career started in the Structured Finance Group-FICC of Goldman Sachs, then led GSAM’s Fixed Income - Risk & Performance Analytics Team. Later, she was a fixed income portfolio manager at McMorgan & Co. She is an American Marshall Fellow (gmfus.org), Board President Emerita of Narika.org (domestic violence), led LEAP201.org (poverty alleviation) and a board member of Proximity Designs. A polymath, she has master’s degrees in business administration, mathematics and ethnomusicology.