NEW YORK (Reuters) - M&T Bank’s chairman and chief executive officer, Robert Wilmers, died on Saturday night at home after nearly 35 years leading the Buffalo, New York-based company, the bank said on Sunday.
Wilmers, 83, was succeeded by Robert Brady, the bank’s lead outside director who assumed the position of non-executive chairman, according to a statement from the bank.
The bank’s three vice chairmen, Richard Gold, Rene Jones and Kevin Pearson, will oversee M&T Bank’s daily operations.
Wilmer oversaw massive growth in the bank’s assets, which rose to $120 billion in 2017 from $2 billion when he took over in 1983. He also spearheaded a regional expansion that took the bank to nearly 800 branches across the eastern United States from about 50 in one state.
In a statement from the bank, Berkshire Hathaway CEO and M&T shareholder Warren Buffett described Wilmer as “a remarkable banker ... and a wonderful friend.”
Reporting by Elizabeth Dilts; Editing by Peter Cooney