2022 Power 50: Michael Welch
Photo | Courtesy of UniBank
Michael Welch, CEO of UniBank, in Whitinsville
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Even before leading the second largest bank headquartered in Central Massachusetts, Michael Welch was already making huge impressions on Greater Worcester, and on the minds of future generations, as the headmaster of private Saint John’s High School in Shrewsbury for 15 years.
In the latest chapter of his career, Welch serves as CEO of UniBank, which has $2.38 billion in assets across 14 branches with 263 employees. He was brought on as the bank’s leader not because of his expertise in the financial services industry – since he had almost none – but because of his deep connections to the community and his ability to set a strong strategic vision for the 152-year-old institution. The bank was a leader in dispersing Paycheck Protection Program funds from the U.S. Small Business Administration, in order to help local businesses keep employees working through the coronavirus pandemic.
A focus on community is imperative to Welch and is demonstrated in the way he and the bank engage with the world around them. In October, UniBank launched the UniBank Charitable Foundation with $2 million in funds to supplement the pre-existing $750,000 in annual giving UniBank distributes among local charities and community organizations.
What sets the Central Mass. business community apart from the rest of the world? There is a work ethic long associated with our area – a grit and determination that harkens back to our days as an industrial workforce, that is manifest in today’s workers, whether it be blue collar or white collar. There exists a standard of living that is more within reach of families. Employers and employees are discovering those realities, that we who grew up in the city have known a lifetime.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated from its original version. The original version said UniBank had $3 billion in assets, which was rounded up from the $2.57 billion reported for UniBank by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., as of Sept. 30. FDIC updated this figure to $2.38 billion on Dec. 31, and the story has been changed with this newer figure.
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