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DRIVEN BY OUR VALUES AND IN SERVICE TO COMMUNITY

DRIVEN BY OUR VALUES AND IN SERVICE TO COMMUNITY

DRIVEN BY OUR VALUES AND IN SERVICE TO COMMUNITY

DRIVEN BY OUR VALUES AND IN SERVICE TO COMMUNITY

I TRUST THOSE WHO DO.​
DRIVEN BY OUR VALUES AND IN SERVICE TO COMMUNITY

"I TRUST THOSE WHO DO.​"

Robert G. Wilmers

DRIVEN BY OUR VALUES AND IN SERVICE TO COMMUNITY

Where Integrity Leads, Impact Will Follow

The Robert G. Wilmers Integrity Prize

With integrity in leadership and service to community at the forefront of our search, each year we honor an individual striving to better our world. In determining next year’s winner and finalists, the Wilmers Integrity Prize sets cause, character, and results into dynamics for consideration while spanning genres and fields of achievement — we are looking for people who thread integrity through values and actions.  

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Bob Wilmers Made an Impact Every Day

He held himself and others to the highest standards. He challenged. He questioned. He believed in the power of education. He rode a bike to work well into his 80s. He let his actions speak for themselves. He was the embodiment of integrity.

Bob Wilmers was a special man who quietly improved the communities and world in which he lived. Wherever he put down roots in life or business, he made sure to cultivate real relationships, support local institutions, and partner with leaders to solve problems. He gave generously to organizations he found important – with special attention to education and the arts.

For nearly 35 years, Bob Wilmers led M&T Bank Corporation as chief executive officer, from 1983 until his passing in 2017. During this time, he grew the bank in size and influence, including the navigation through the 2008 financial crisis, and was regarded as one of the most astute and prudent financiers of his era. But his ultimate focus was the bank’s responsibility to positively impact the communities it serves. He worked hard to make M&T a shining example of what it means to be a bank, as well as a neighbor. He pursued his values rigorously, always with modesty and piercing intelligence.

The Robert G. Wilmers Integrity Prize was established in honor of Bob Wilmers to recognize and celebrate the ideals represented by his life and legacy as a philanthropist and as an advocate for positive change for the greater good.​​​

OUR VALUES

Cause

Be principled without compromise.
Always anchoring actions with core beliefs and having the courage to do so even if it means going against the grain.

Character

Think independently.
Trusting your vision and solving problems based on what you’ve learned, observed and considered.

Results

Enrich communities sustainably.
Really knowing your community, listening to and addressing its needs with your work in a way that fosters growth.

Lead

Do the right thing.
Even if it’s difficult, even if no one’s looking, remain committed to doing what you think is morally right and have the courage to change the world.

WHO WE ARE

 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Elisabeth Roche WilmersPresident Emerita and Honorary Trustee

 

H. Rodgin Cohen, co-founder, President

 

Camille de WoutersVice President

 

Diane Eshleman, Treasurer

 

René Jones, co-founder

 

Hans Morris

Charles John O'Byrne

Allison Sagraves, Secretary

 

Diana Taylor

 STAFF

Jennifer Trainer Thompson, Director and CEO

Carina Liebeknecht, Director, Special Projects

 SELECTION COMITTEE

 ADVISORY BOARD

Glenn Kaplan, Brand builder and former creative director of Barnes & Noble

Yvonne Minor-Ragan, CEO of Y.M. Ragan Consulting and former president of Buffalo Promise Neighborhood

Evelyn Rodstein, Executive coach and former managing director of leadership at JPMorgan Chase, Bankers Trust, and KPMG

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