Wilmers; banking leader, philanthropist and supporter of the arts; died suddenly and unexpectedly in his home, Saturday night. He was 83 years-old.
His M&T Bank family returned to work Monday still processing this tremendous loss. Rene Jones, one of the three vice chairman now responsible for the bank's day-to-day operations, says Wilmers was the heart of the bank's culture.
"Over his 34 year career here at M&T, he showed himself in so many facets. The one that I think we'll always remember, though, is during the financial crisis," recalls Jones. "I think he emerged as a bit of the conscience of the banking industry. Arguably the industry, at some point in time, lost it's way. And the leadership was in crisis. And what's unique about Bob is he was willing to speak out about it. And he was willing to say what needed to be said. And I think that sort of served as a beacon to the rest of the industry. So he'll be sorely missed by all in the industry."
Wilmers became Chairman and CEO of M&T in May 1983, when the bank had assets of $2 billion.
A press release sent out after his death outlined his accomplishments over the next 3 decades. M&T completed 24 acquisitions. The organization grew from 51 branches in one state to 783 branches in eight states plus the District of Columbia, employing nearly 17,000 people. Today, M&T's assets are now more than $120 billion.
M&T executives say Robert Wilmers' accomplishments as Chairman and CEO are only surpassed by his commitment to the community, and the belief that the bank can only do well if the communities it serves do well.
He was a long time supporter and advocate for public schools in impoverished Buffalo neighborhoods. One of his M&T projects was the adoption of public school 68, turning it into Westminster Community Charter School. This would be the first of a handful of other schools adopted, called the "Buffalo Promise Neighborhood Schools."
New York State Senator, Chris Jacobs, remembers his time on the Buffalo School Board when Wilmers offered money to search for and bring in a new superintendent for Buffalo Schools, "He believed in leadership, but he believed in leveraging the resources he had at that bank to help. And I think that it's unprecedented what he has done."
Jacobs said Wilmers put forth the same effort and resources for arts and culture in Buffalo.
Jennifer Barbee with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra agrees, "There is no question that the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra would not be the orchestra that is it to today if it had not been for the support of Mr. Wilmers personally, as well as M&T Bank. Really, their support, their time, their generosity, their consistent type of giving - it's unparalleled in Western New York. And not really just for the orchestra but for all the arts and cultural organizations. I really truly can't think of one organization that they don't support, and so it's a heartbreaking loss."
Because of the many different ways Wilmers contributed to Western New York, Jones tells Channel 2 he believes there could a number of memorial events planned in the coming weeks. But M&T leadership plans to let the Wilmers family guide that process for the company.