After a more-than 40-year career in the banking industry, Bill Mills will retire this week.
Mills, 66, has served as president of PNC Bank’s Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey region for 13 years. He joined PNC in 1989.
Mills, a straight LGBT ally, was heavily involved in PNC’s diversity efforts and LGBT outreach, serving as executive sponsor of its LGBT employee resource group.
He helped pioneer PNC’s partnership with LGBT chamber of commerce Independent Business Alliance.
Mills said PNC has long understood the need for diversity; the agency has offered domestic-partner benefits for same-sex couples for a number of years, as well as medical benefits specific to transgender employees.
“We took a pact as a company that we would embrace diversity and pursue it to our advantage in the sense that we find a real diverse workforce allows us tremendous flexibility and the ability to grow this company,” he said.
Since 2010, PNC has teamed with IBA to offer the annual PNC LGBT Business Award, a $5,000 grant to help an LGBT-owned small business grow.
“Small businesses have a challenge no matter what they are,” he said. “And this is the only award that I am aware of where a major corporation encourages a small business to grow. It is a great award because it is just another way to help them become successful.”
Mills said PNC has benefited from its involvement with IBA.
“We have employees that are involved in it. It really has fostered broader thinking in our company. We want everybody to bring their full self to work every day,” said Mills, who serves on IBA’s board of directors and IBA’s executive committee. “The IBA is the most successful of all the chambers that I am aware of in the city. The style and the way it is growing should be a model for all kinds of chambers.”
IBA board president Rich Horrow said Mills’ work in the LGBT community, and leadership in his company on LGBT issues, has been significant.
“Bill’s visibility at our events has had a huge impact on the LGBT business community, serving as a strong role model for small businesses and other leaders in our community,” he said. “His legacy has created a strong partnership with the IBA that will endure for years to come.”
As for Mills, he plans to stay busy in retirement by remaining on a number of organizational boards — and spending time with his grandkids.
“The reality is, the most fun I will have is with my five grandchildren, who all luckily live in the region, so I am looking forward to spending time with them and spoiling them,” he said. “I am a young retiree and I’ve got a lot of stuff I want to do.”