Director of ESG and Sustainability
Tracy Woodrow, chief administrative officer at M&T Bank, called Erin Komorowski an "unlikely banker."
"Erin has C-suite potential because she is empathetic and fearless," Woodrow added.
Prior to joining the Buffalo, N.Y.-based institution, Komorowski's resume was filled with stints at nonprofits — including two years with the Peace Corps. It was during her time working in Dominica, a small island in the Caribbean with a population just over 70,000, that eventually led her to business school and banking. In Dominica, she worked with a nonprofit that provided training and mentoring to help entrepreneurs gain access to credit from banks and through grants.
"I was interested in how we serve our community and just fell in love with it," she said.
Komorowski has now been with the $202.4 billion-asset M&T for eight years and currently serves as the bank's director of ESG and sustainability. She is responsible for helping the institution and its Wilmington Trust subsidiary understand the risks and opportunities with sustainability and its impact on the environment and society. She sets targets, goals and overall strategy for this function.
Part of her mandate has been to more formally organize and measure the regional bank's impact.
"Everyone in the organization does the work. Everyone does community development and listens to our stakeholders," she said. "But it's very hard to say, 'How do we make sure we have consistency and are fully measuring our impact?' It can be a challenge."
To make a difference, M&T Bank focuses on a "holistic approach" while ensuring every investment "ties back to our communities," she said. The bank's 2021 ESG report — the most recent available — notes that the bank has provided more than $1.7 billion in funding for affordable housing initiatives, invested almost $174 million in the renewable energy sector and contributed almost $34 million to nonprofit organizations.
Through all of this, Komorowski said she focuses on ensuring that M&T is truly committed to the work and isn't merely checking a box.
"Banks are in a unique place in terms of access to capital and support to communities, families and business," she added. "I think it is the most important thing we could do. Our health and wellness and success is tied to our communities' health and wellness and success. The interconnectedness of this can't be overstated."
She does this, at least partly, by applying an important lesson she learned during the Peace Corps.
"I think the heart of it is listening to my stakeholders, whether that's the community or customers or my colleagues," she said. "Coming in and assuming you know more than your stakeholders will always be an issue. What I go back to all the time is how do I make sure I am listening and understanding what they need from us."
