Robert G. Wilmers

Robert George "Bob" Wilmers (April 20, 1934 – December 16, 2017) was an American billionaire banker.<ref name="businessweek">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="forbes">Template:Cite web</ref> He was the chairman and CEO of M&T Bank from 1983 until his death in 2017, except for an 18-month break in 2005 - 2006.<ref name="businessweek"/><ref name="forbes"/><ref name="nocera">Joe Nocera, The Good Banker, The New York Times, May 30, 2011</ref>

Early life and education

Robert George Wilmers was born in New York<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> on April 20, 1934, as one of three children to Charles Wilmers, an executive with the Belgium utility holding company, Sofina, who would eventually become its president, and his wife Cecilia. He grew up in New York City and Belgium.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His sister Mary-Kay Wilmers is the editor of the London Review of Books, the well-known literary journal.

He graduated from the Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard College (1956),<ref name="AB"/> and attended the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.<ref name="businessweek"/>

Career

He started his career at Bankers Trust Co. in 1962,<ref name="AB"/><ref name="businessweek"/> served in New York City government under mayor John Lindsay as a financial official in the 1960s,<ref name="AB"/> then went on to work at Morgan Guaranty Trust Company.

He served as chairman and CEO of M&T Bank<ref name="businessweek"/><ref name="forbes"/> and its subsidiary, Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company (M&T Bank) since 1983.<ref name="businessweek"/>

In 1992, the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Management named Wilmers Niagara Frontier Executive of the Year. In 1991, the Greater Buffalo Chamber of Commerce named him Western New Yorker of the Year. He received honorary degrees from Canisius College (1988), Niagara University (1991) and the State University of New York at Buffalo (2004). He was cited by The Buffalo News in 1987 and 1994 as a Citizen of the Year. Wilmers retired as CEO in 2005 but returned 18 months later after his successor, Robert Sadler, stepped down from the post<ref name="AB">Template:Cite web</ref> and later received the 2005 American Banker Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2008, Wilmers was awarded Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by the President of France. In December 2011, he was named Banker of the Year by American Banker.<ref name="American Banker">Matthew Monks, A Throwback Approach Keeps Wilmers, M&T on Top, American Banker, November 30, 2011</ref>

He purchased Chateau Haut-Bailly, a winery in Bordeaux, France, in 1998.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref>

He served as chairman of the Empire State Development Corporation from 2008 to 2009, chairman of the New York State Bankers Association in 2002 and as a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 1993 to 1998.Template:Citation needed

In 2011, he was named "banker of the year" by American Banker.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2016, together with several partners, he purchased a group of newspapers in western New England, including The Berkshire Eagle of Pittsfield, MA.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In January 2017, the rising value of bank stocks meant that Wilmers had become a billionaire.<ref name="bloomberg1">Template:Cite news</ref>

Personal life and death

His widow Elisabeth Wilmers is French, and they owned Château Haut-Bailly from 1998 until his death, as well as the nearby property Château Le Pape from 2012 onwards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Wilmers died at his home in New York City on December 16, 2017.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The cause of death was a heart attack while recovering from a recent surgery.<ref name=":0" />