Meet the Empire State Development Corp.’s new chief
By Jonathan D. Epstein
Updated: 06/06/08 6:50 AM
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- M&T Bank CEO Robert G. Wilmers is now also the state’s top economic development official.
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As head of M&T Bank Corp., Robert G. Wilmers has complained for years about state government and how high taxes and spending have created a dismal business climate.
Now, he’s going to get a chance to do something about the economy as the state’s top official overseeing the economic development strategy.
As the new chairman of the Empire State Development Corp., Wilmers will oversee the efforts to help businesses grow and work to attract new businesses to invest in the state.
However, because the position is part-time, Wilmers will not leave his full-time job as chairman and CEO of M&T Bank, which he has led for 25 years.
“This shouldn’t affect my duties at the bank. I’m totally committed to running M&T,” he said. “But I’m also totally committed to the economy of New York State, and particularly upstate. I hope I can do something to help there as well.”
Wilmers, 74, brings a wide range of experience to the role, as well as a familiarity and comfort in both upstate New York and New York City. Born in the city and partly raised in Belgium, he now maintains an apartment on West Ferry Street in Buffalo and another on Central Park West in New York — as well as a home in Massachusetts and a vineyard in France.
He has worked in both parts of the state, in both the private and public sectors. He is active in various business groups and initiatives, and is knowledgable about its economic conditions.
“Wilmers has been writing for years in his annual reports about the issues in New York State,” said John Fox, a money manager at Fenimore Asset Management in Cobleskill, which owns 478,033 M&T shares. “He’s somebody that understands the issues and has suggestions for solutions, so he’s a good appointment.”
Wilmers graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire and then Harvard in 1956. He attended Harvard University Business School from 1958 to 1959, and then joined the international department of Bankers Trust Corp. in New York.
He took a four-year leave to work as deputy New York City finance commissioner from 1966 to 1970 under then-Mayor John Lindsay, overseeing day-to- day operations and a $6 billion budget. Then he returned to banking at J. P. Morgan & Co. for 10 years, even leading its Belgian unit from 1973 to 1977 before returning.
His company, M&T Bank, is one of the 20 largest U. S. banks, operates 319 branches across the state, from Buffalo to Long Island, and over 700 in seven states. The bank, with $65 billion in assets, employs 13,000.
Additionally, the bank serves more than 150,000 businesses, including more than 45,000 in upstate New York, its original market. One in three upstate firms, and one in two in Western New York, bank with M&T.
“I know how to run a business,” Wilmers said. “Our bank has helped a lot of other businesses grow in New York state, so I’m familiar with the challenges of operating a business here. But I’m also familiar with the opportunities as well.”
