Robert Wilmers
ESDC Upstate Gets a New (Acting) Leader
Lots of shuffling at the state’s major development agency: Ken Schoetz, currently the upstate COO of the Empire State Development Corporation, has today been named acting upstate CEO, according to one person with knowledge of the situation.
Mr. read more »
Paterson Installs Buffalo-Based Bank Chief as ESDC Chair [UPDATED]
Governor Paterson has named the CEO of Buffalo-based M & T Bank, Robert Wilmers, as the new chairman of the Empire State Development Corporation, according to two people familiar with an announcement expected this afternoon.
Updated 4 p.m.
Mr. Wilmers, 74, will take a new consolidated role as chairman of the state’s major development agency, which oversees incentive programs and projects such as Moynihan Station, Atlantic Yards, and the Javits Center expansion.
Mr. Wilmers, who will not take a salary, is a major political donor and served on Eliot Spitzer’s transition team just after he was elected governor. Campaign finance records show he gave $40,000 to the Spitzer-Paterson campaign between 2005 and 2006, and $50,000 to the state Senate Republicans earlier this year.
He has served on numerous boards and organizations related to business and economic development, and has been a strong advocate for the revitalization of the upstate economy. He has supported the group Unshackle Upstate, which has blamed Albany’s inattention to upstate for economic problems in the region. read more »
