Through good and bad, he’s kept Comerica a hometown bank

Eugene A. Miller

Age: 64
Residence: Bloomfield Hills
Occupation: Chairman, Comerica Inc.
Honored: For his efforts as a community supporter and as a businessman who has guided Comerica Bank’s growth and backed downtown Detroit development

ene Miller wanted a job in 1955 — the recent high school grad needed to pay for college.
That job was as a clerk at the Detroit Bank — now known as Comerica Bank.

    Through 47 years, Miller has presided over Comerica’s growth into a multi-state corporation. As chairman, he led the commitment to keep the bank’s headquarters in downtown Detroit even though other banks left. The 64-year-old banker remains a corporate cheerleader for the downtown area.

    “I’ve seen Detroit in good times, and I’ve seen it in weaker times, too,” Miller said. “This company has its roots in the city. We think it makes a lot of sense staying in downtown Detroit if you want to be a hometown bank.”

    Miller learned a thing or two climbing the ladder at Comerica. Humble corporate beginnings helped him understand what it’s like to bring home a very small paycheck.

    Additionally, his long history at the bank — seeing it all, through numerous positions at many levels — provided a deep understanding of how the bank works.

    “There’s an awful lot of good managers, but Gene is a good manager who also is a good banker and knows the business as well as or better than any CEO of a bank in this country,” said Justin Moran, a local independent bank consultant.

    “Not only that, he also has some feeling for the people in lower-level jobs, which has been a very crucial element of his success. He has a lot of people in that organization that would follow him to the gates of Hell if he asked.”

    It’s Miller’s appreciation for his employees that has won him the respect of Comerica workers. Miller is the first to say it’s the bank’s employees that have made Comerica the largest financial institution in Michigan.

    He’s a big supporter of employee stock ownership, too, often giving company shares as a reward for good work — more than 90 percent of the bank’s employees own shares. So it’s not uncommon for Miller to chat with employees about share value and business outlook while riding the office elevator.

    For Miller, titles such as chairman or CEO or president carry extra duties. He has never turned away from community responsibilities. Time serving with organizations such as United Way Community Services, Detroit Renaissance, the Detroit Medical Center, Concerned Citizens for the Arts in Michigan and the Economic Club of Detroit, however, has squeezed his personal life.

    But he wouldn’t change a thing as he looks forward to retiring from Comerica in September.

    “It does cut into your personal time,” Miller said of that community involvement. “I realize this, and as I approach retirement, I have to pay back some time to my wife, Lois.

    “But I still want to work in the community to make it a better place.”

— Joel J. Smith