M&T Bank / Partner Spotlight

Today, we’re spotlighting M&T Bank, a strategic partner. In this Q&A, we learn about the bank’s presence and mission in Vermont. Our guests include Mike Keegan, Head of Community Banking; and Heidi Stumpff, Regional President of Vermont. 

Blaise: Mike and Heidi, thanks for being here! Can you both tell me what you do at M&T?

Mike: I joined M&T at the dawn of time – also known as 30 years ago – and I’ve played a variety of roles. Now as Head of Community Banking, I ensure that, in every community we operate, we have talent like Heidi who make sure our employees bring all of our capabilities to

our community.

Heidi: I’ve been at the bank for 12 years and I’m currently the Regional President (“RP”) for Vermont. I’ve been in that role for about a year and a half. I get to play a role in providing support, leadership, [and] bringing the team together. Prior to that, I ran the commercial real estate division for Vermont. 

Blaise: How has M&T’s presence in Vermont evolved over the years?

Heidi: While the name M&T hasn’t been present, the philosophy has. We’ve always been here in Vermont via Chittenden [and] People’s –– our predecessor institutions. 

Mike: There was a guy who moved into my neighborhood 20 years ago from New York. He told me the story of how he went to UVM, and right out of college, he worked for IBM and traveled all over the world. He said, ‘I never, ever changed my banking relationship – and it was with Chittenden Bank.’ So when we announced that we were coming together with People’s, he sent me a screenshot of his coffee mug that he got when he was a new customer as a 21-year-old. He said, ‘Finally, I’m a customer of M&T’. So the name changed, but the commitment to showing up in that kind of personal way hasn’t changed. 

Blaise: What’s it like to work with or in Vermont?

Heidi: As the RP, I have the best job in the bank, because I get to work with our customers, community partners, and employees. We want to be a bank for all Vermonters. How do we show up as a good community partner? It’s different from what I had been doing previously. That’s really been a highlight for me, being more engaged in the community.

Mike: Our former chairman, who lived until he was 84, had this phrase…he called it ‘enlightened self-interest.’ And his premise was, when communities do better, we do better. A rising tide lifts all boats. That’s still incredibly relevant today. We have an ability to provide and play an important role in the fabric of a community. 

Blaise: Can you tell me about the M&T Charitable Foundation?

Mike: Although we’re a bank that has a centralized Charitable Foundation, Heidi has a team of individuals that she gathers with regularly to understand where the needs are and where we should make investments. We provide resources to thousands of organizations annually, but it still feels like a local group of folks making decisions that are very specific to community needs. 

Heidi: Like Mike said, we decide all local philanthropic giving here in Vermont. It’s generated from the team. So it really allows us to stay local and be present, to really understand what the communities need. And we can be creative. We partner closely with the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington, and during the solar eclipse, we said, ‘What’s a really cool way that we could help educate and be a partner to the Boys & Girls Club?’ We went out and hired a local astronomer who gave a whole educational presentation. Finding those creative ways that we can show up and make a difference in somebody’s life is in the DNA of M&T. We also have such a big volunteerism presence. Each of our employees is granted 40 hours of paid volunteer time a year. In Vermont alone, the team contributed over 6000 volunteer hours. 

Blaise: What attracted you about VCET? How did the partnership form?

Heidi: What VCET does and what the bank does are pretty parallel. We both form relationships to help people achieve financial stability [and] success. It’s an opportunity for us to engage with people that are helping move Vermont forward. It was a natural fit –– and the partnership has just grown from there. 

Mike: It was maybe sometime in 2021 when I first met Dave. It was just something about how level and purposeful he was. There are 5 C’s when you think about lending people money, and to me, the biggest one is character. So when you meet someone who is super intentional and authentic, and walks the walk, you want to follow a guy like that. And the way he would describe the way he invested in companies and connected people, and what he was trying to do with diverse communities and the forums around engaging more women entrepreneurs, it was all the stuff that we believe. My job is to bridge a generation of younger, diverse, engaged people in our business. I would invest in that any day of the week.

Blaise: What future initiatives or projects at M&T are getting you excited?

Heidi: This idea of collaboration; being a convener. Being able to offer folks at VCET like, ‘Hey, we have a large network, a large footprint, can we connect you with somebody that does something similar in one of our other markets?’ Bringing people together and connecting dots is really something that I think we do really well, and I’m excited to focus more on in the near future. 

Mike: I’m excited that organizations like VCET will bring us along. As you start to think of what we’ve traditionally done, do we understand the nature of technology firms? Do we understand what Fintech is doing? What startups are doing in different spaces? We need to learn. So this curiosity around learning is a mutual aspiration. 

Blaise: What advice would you offer to emerging Vermont entrepreneurs who are looking to build a relationship with a bank like M&T?

Heidi: Start a relationship early. Have a conversation. We can be such a valuable partner, even if we’re not lending a dollar day one. We have a lot of insight, we can be a convener.

Mike: You don’t necessarily have to chase VC money to be successful. And what VCET does better than anyone I’ve ever interacted with is you provide a level of authenticity, so that people in this space can begin to understand what choices they can make for their own families and their own interests. 

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. 

Learn more about M&T Bank here. You can also follow them on social media here.