BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - M&T Bank on Wednesday officially unveiled its "Tech Hub" at Seneca One Tower.
The Tech Hub's goal is to provide a workspace to create new technologies for the "tech ecosystem" in Western New York.
"Think of a place where people come to listen to what ideas customers have," M&T Bank Chairman and CEO Rene Jones said. "They brainstorm on solving those problems and improving people's quality of life. It doesn't matter what type of problem it is. The environment you have and have created here is designed to solve those problems for our customers."
Jones said the space is dedicated to collaboration and innovation, though not just for M&T Bank's needs. He said it's a place that many businesses can go to in order to embracing the evolving tech field.
M&T Bank will use 11 of the 38 floors at Seneca One Tower for the Tech Hub. All told, the space is 330,000 square feet. M&T Bank plans to hire 1,000 tech workers and use the space to accommodate 1,500 total employees.
M&T Bank Chairman/CEO Rene Jones. April 28, 2021WBEN/Mike Baggerman
"There is twice as much space than there is people sitting here," Jones said. "We want our customer-facing employees and our customers to come into this space to talk and work with the technologist and work with the engineers on the experience they're going to have. By bringing people together in the end-to-end solution of meeting the needs of your clients, that actually allows for faster collaboration, idea generation, right upfront and centered around what your clients needs are."
In May, M&T Bank will begin transitioning employees from other sites into the tower. Jones hopes the tower will reach its pre-pandemic vision by the fall once enough people get their vaccinations.
There are no "offices" per se in this building. Employees will be working in an overwhelmingly open environment, though there are small conferences rooms called "huddle rooms" and even small sections that are sound-proof for private meetings.
"What we've done is try to create the most minimal hierarchy possible," Mike Wisler, M&T Bank's Chief Information Officer, said. "Every single person, myself included, sits here as part of a team doing our work together. But we do need to create some privacy spaces."
M&T Bank also plans to work with members of the community through various partnerships with non-profits and other businesses to help increase technology skills, which may lead to skills developed for entry-level jobs.
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