After just under three years as the state’s secretary of housing and livable communities, former Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus will step down to become the next CEO of Whitinsville-based UniBank.
Augustus will step down from his state job on Feb. 27, taking on the role at UniBank on March 2. He replaces Michael Welch, who announced his pending resignation in January.
“Ed Augustus is a collaborative, results-driven leader with deep roots in Central Massachusetts and a strong record of public service. His substantive interaction with the business community throughout the commonwealth, as well as his experience with cities and towns, makes him exceptionally well-suited for this position,” Timothy Wickstrom, chairman of UniBank’s Board of Directors, said in a Thursday press release.
Augustus served as city manager of Worcester for eight years, stepping down in 2022 to become the first-ever chancellor of Dean College in Franklin. Augustus’ time at Dean was short, as he stepped down after nine months on the job in April 2023.
“I am honored to join UniBank and build upon the 150-year legacy of this incredible institution. I look forward to working with Chairman Wickstrom, the Board of Directors, and the very talented team that Michael Welch has so capably led over the last many years,” Augustus said in the Tuesday press release from UniBank.
He was named the secretary of housing and livable communities a month later, becoming the first person to take on that role with the state in over 30 years, as the state deals with a persistent housing shortage.
UniBank is the seventh-largest bank in Central Massachusetts, according to information compiled by the WBJ Research Department, with $2.4 billion in local deposits and $2.7 billion in total assets. The bank has 15 branches and 254 employees.
Juana Matias, the former regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, has been named as Augustus’ replacement, according to a Tuesday press release from Gov. Maura Healey’s office. Matias was appointed to the HUD regional administrator role by former president Joe Biden in 2022. She formerly served as the chief operating officer of MassINC and CommonWealth Magazine, now known as CommonWealth Beacon.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the real estate and banking & finance industries.
