M&T Bank promoted Shelley Drake to the position of regional president for Western New York.

Drake will directly manage middle market banking in M&T’s Western New York region, which includes 77 offices and a leading market share across the eight New York State counties of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming. She also will retain her role as president of the M&T Charitable Foundation, which distributes more than $20 million in grants annually to more than 3,000 not-for-profit organizations throughout the bank’s markets.

“Shelley Drake is a leader in every sense of the word and, as such, brings her knowledge of customers and community together to benefit both,” said M&T Bank Chairman and CEO Robert G. Wilmers. “She is one of the most experienced commercial bankers we have at M&T Bank, where she has worked with customers and non-profit organizations over the years, and where she always puts the best interests of customers first. She also serves as a mentor to those who are entering the field.”

Drake has 46 years of experience at M&T Bank. She will continue reporting to Jeff Wellington, who has been assigned expanded responsibilities within M&T’s commercial banking business.