Worcester Business Journal

10 Worcester Business Journal | May 4, 2026 | wbjournal.com BY ERIC CASEY WBJ Managing Editor E d Augustus wants to ex- pand UniBank's presence in Worcester. "ere's opportunities to grow that footprint here in the city of Worcester. As the city grows, we'd like to be part of the growth," Augustus said. When he took over as UniBank's CEO on March 2, Augustus became the second executive from a non-tra- ditional background to lead the Whitinsville-based financial institu- tion. He brought decades of experi- ence leading government institutions and strong ties in the Central Massa- chusetts business community. "It's an interesting and exciting hire," said Saman- tha McDonald, real estate attor- ney and partner at Worcester law firm Bowditch & Dewey. "UniBank has a solid place in south county, but trying to ex- pand a little more into the city and into more Central Mass, choosing somebody who knows both the state government and the city like the back of his hands is a good choice." While Augustus' strategy for Uni- Bank's future is more of a long-term vision than a concrete plan, he wants to explore expanding the bank's phys- ical locations around Worcester, lean into his pre-existing relationships, and continue to focus on housing. Aer spending eight years as Worcester city manager and the last 33 months as the first Massachusetts secretary of housing and livable communities in three decades, he envisions his role at UniBank to be his last full-time job. "e chance to come home and be involved in the community, albeit from a different perspective, was a unique opportunity at this stage of my career," Augustus said. "is is a place that I'll stay for the foreseeable future and try to make a difference in places that I've been trying to make a differ- ence my whole career, albeit wearing different hats." "Keep the visibility of the bank high" As CEO, Augustus is following in the footsteps of former CEO Mi- chael Welch, who also came from an untraditional background as former headmaster of the private St. John's High School in Shrewsbury. Bank CEOs usually come from within, or at least from other banking institutions. Just under a quarter of banks filled senior roles with talent sourced from outside the banking industry between 2022 and 2025, according to a report from media firm Bank Director. e small portion of banks that looked outside the banking space have been satisfied, with that same report showing 97% of those hires were considered successful by participating bank executives. "I'm the second CEO in this kind of non-traditional banker model coming in," Augustus said. "Hopefully I've got A place to grow Aer long government career, Ed Augustus now leads UniBank's efforts to increase its reach and the region's housing stock As UniBank CEO, Ed Augustus said his deep list of contacts and noteriety from a high- profile political career will help keep the bank's visibility high. PHOTO | EDD COTE Samantha McDonald, partner at Bowditch & Dewey

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