Nigel Smith ’19
Nigel Smith ’19 was recently appointed vice president and environmental finance asset manager for M&T’s Community Banking division. In this newly created position, Smith is primarily responsible for monitoring the portfolio of existing renewable energy investments and assisting the relationship manager and the underwriting group with investment approval.
Before his current position, Smith was vice president and consumer protection office
compliance consultant, based at the bank’s headquarters in Buffalo, N.Y. Smith has
since moved back to his hometown of Atlanta, where he received his MBA from the University
of Georgia in May 2023. He also recently completed M&T’s two-year EquityOne program,
created for unseen and highly talented leaders within the bank.
A major in political science, Smith began his M&T career as a management development
program associate specializing in compliance risk management. As a new employee, he
was welcomed by several Skidmore alumni, including Abigail Thomas Coniglio ’16.
Smith’s notable accomplishments at M&T include creating a small-group discussion model
for crucial conversations with diversity, equity, and inclusion themes. The model
has since been adopted by a division-wide employee resource group of more than 140
members. The effort is now scaled to an eight-member team and adopted as a tool by
several business lines, including the bank’s DEI office.
“This may be my most significant accomplishment because it was birthed during the COVID-19 pandemic and a visceral feeling to mobilize DEI discussions within my organization after George Floyd’s murder,” Smith says.
Smith also played a pivotal role as one of the project managers responsible for integrating personnel, systems, and risk infrastructure during M&T's largest acquisition deal to date in 2022.
Smith, who served as class president at Skidmore, is a young alumni member of the Skidmore College Board of Trustees. His leadership as a student and alumnus and his accelerated career trajectory are based on core principles that include believing in oneself and taking calculated risks to deliver value and make a positive impact.
“Every new role and responsibility I have pursued has been based on betting on myself,” Smith says. “Success is not guaranteed, so I had to work at it consistently and take the risk that I will rise to the occasion every time.”
