M&T Bank has named a 15-year veteran of Altria, the parent company of tobacco firm Philip Morris, as its first chief communications officer, the bank announced Thursday.
Sarah Knakmuhs, who started her new role March 18, will report to Chris Kay, M&T’s head of enterprise platforms, and will be based in Washington. She will lead a team of 20 people, a spokesperson for the bank said.
Stepping into this freshly minted position, Knakmuhs will help to refine M&T Bank’s communication channels and capabilities. She will lead internal and external communications while bolstering M&T Bank’s engagement with stakeholders, including employees, the media and the communities M&T serves.
“Sarah's appointment to Chief Communications Officer represents an important step toward enhancing M&T Bank's ongoing dialogue with our internal and external audiences,” Kay said in a statement. “Sarah's extensive background in strategic communications, focused on helping companies protect their valuations and reputations, reflects M&T's commitment to attracting extraordinary talent. We are excited to have Sarah join as chief communications officer.”
Before joining M&T, Knakmuhs served as senior counselor at the H/Advisors Abernathy. There, she spearheaded the establishment of the firm's D.C. office and offered strategic communications counsel to regulated entities.
Until 2019, Knakmuhs worked as vice president of government affairs and public policy at Altria. There, she managed a multimillion-dollar budget and led a team to influence policy and policy positions, activations, research and ballot initiatives for federal, state and local government affairs. She focused on tax and employee benefits and regulatory restrictions for tobacco, alcohol and cannabis, according to her LinkedIn profile.
“One reason I chose this role at M&T Bank is the organization’s recognition of communications as a strategic partner to drive growth, build and preserve trust, and strengthen our customer- and community-focused culture,” Knakmuhs said in a statement seen by Banking Dive.
This new role reflects the continued importance of the communications functions at the Buffalo, New York-based bank, an M&T spokesperson told Banking Dive.
In his recent letter to shareholders, M&T CEO René Jones discussed the importance of public trust and the bank’s ongoing mission to earn and re-earn customers' and communities' trust. This newly created role will contribute to this critical work by strengthening engagement and deepening relationships with diverse stakeholder audiences, the spokesperson noted.
“While our banking system is unquestionably stronger than it was in the wake of the Great Recession, 2023 sent us a strong signal that we as an industry still have much work ahead to earn and re-earn public trust. The failure of one bank — with its deposit base comprising just ~1% of all deposits in the country — should not be seen as evidence of a system under duress, but rather a system working,” Jones said in the letter. “Our financial system needs to be able to keep working efficiently even with such events.”
The bank’s net operating income grew last year to $2.79 billion — a 13% increase over 2022.
