Charles A. Agemian (July 22, 1909 – March 30, 1996) was an Armenian-American banker who took early retirement from Chase Manhattan Bank, where he was executive vice president of operations, to become chairman and chief executive officer of the Hackensack Trust Co., which later was renamed Garden State National Bank.[1]
Agemian began his banking career in 1927 as a messenger for the Bank of Manhattan Co.[2] After rising through the ranks in operations, Agemian was named vice president and deputy controller when the Bank of Manhattan Co. and Chase National Bank merged in 1955 to become Chase Manhattan Bank. A year later, he became vice president and controller, and, in 1959, controller general. Agemian is known to have had a good relationship with John J. McCloy, the Chairman of Chase Manhattan. In July 1963, he was named executive vice president of operations of Chase Manhattan Bank, a position he held until his retirement in December 1969.[4] On Jan. 1, 1970, he became chairman and chief executive officer of Hackensack Trust Co. at the urging of Steve Ross (Time-Warner CEO), then chairman of Kinney Services Inc., which was the bank's majority shareholder. Kinney National Company later merged with Warner Bros. to become Warner Communications.
Shortly after taking over, Agemian changed the bank's name to Garden State National Bank, and, a year later, merged it with North Jersey National Bank of Hudson County. Because of the Federal Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, Warner was forced to divest its stake in the Garden State National Bank. After an initial divestiture attempt was derailed by a dissident board member, William A. Conway, who claimed that it allowed Warner Communications to exit at a profit at the expense of certain minority shareholders, Garden State ultimately merged in 1980 with Fidelity Union Bancorporation of Newark (which later became part of Wachovia). This transaction required Agemian's resignation from the Warner Communications board so he could continue as chairman and chief executive officer of Garden State. Agemian retired from Garden State in 1981 but remained active as a faculty member at the Stonier Graduate School of Banking and Pace University.
Personal lifeedit
A resident of Spring Lake, New Jersey, Agemian died on March 30, 1996, at the age of 86.[1] He was married to Mary Agemian.[1] They had two children: Sandra Borg and Mary Louise Heath.[1]
Referencesedit
^ abcd"C. A. Agemian, 86, Former Executive At Chase Manhattan". The New York Times. April 1, 1996. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
^ abBergen.com: "An Armenian Story: Charles Agemian" by Stephen A. Borg February 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine December 1, 2009
^Ecker, Allan B. The Color of Money - The First Ever Proxy Fight for the Control of a National Bank
^Stephen A. Borg (December 1, 2009). . Bergen.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2014.
November 27, 2023
charles, agemian, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, october, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Charles A Agemian news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message Charles A Agemian July 22 1909 March 30 1996 was an Armenian American banker who took early retirement from Chase Manhattan Bank where he was executive vice president of operations to become chairman and chief executive officer of the Hackensack Trust Co which later was renamed Garden State National Bank 1 Charles A AgemianBorn 1909 07 22 July 22 1909Aleppo Ottoman SyriaDiedMarch 30 1996 1996 03 30 aged 86 Neptune City New Jersey United StatesEducationUniversity of PennsylvaniaColumbia Business SchoolOccupationBankerKnown forCEO of Garden State National BankSpouseMary AgemianChildrenSandra Borg Mary Louise Heath Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 ReferencesEarly life and education editAgemian was born in Aleppo Syria and immigrated to the United States at the age of fourteen 2 After receiving his B A from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania Agemian graduated from Columbia Business School with an MBA 3 Career editAgemian began his banking career in 1927 as a messenger for the Bank of Manhattan Co 2 After rising through the ranks in operations Agemian was named vice president and deputy controller when the Bank of Manhattan Co and Chase National Bank merged in 1955 to become Chase Manhattan Bank A year later he became vice president and controller and in 1959 controller general Agemian is known to have had a good relationship with John J McCloy the Chairman of Chase Manhattan In July 1963 he was named executive vice president of operations of Chase Manhattan Bank a position he held until his retirement in December 1969 4 On Jan 1 1970 he became chairman and chief executive officer of Hackensack Trust Co at the urging of Steve Ross Time Warner CEO then chairman of Kinney Services Inc which was the bank s majority shareholder Kinney National Company later merged with Warner Bros to become Warner Communications Shortly after taking over Agemian changed the bank s name to Garden State National Bank and a year later merged it with North Jersey National Bank of Hudson County Because of the Federal Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 Warner was forced to divest its stake in the Garden State National Bank After an initial divestiture attempt was derailed by a dissident board member William A Conway who claimed that it allowed Warner Communications to exit at a profit at the expense of certain minority shareholders Garden State ultimately merged in 1980 with Fidelity Union Bancorporation of Newark which later became part of Wachovia This transaction required Agemian s resignation from the Warner Communications board so he could continue as chairman and chief executive officer of Garden State Agemian retired from Garden State in 1981 but remained active as a faculty member at the Stonier Graduate School of Banking and Pace University Personal life editA resident of Spring Lake New Jersey Agemian died on March 30 1996 at the age of 86 1 He was married to Mary Agemian 1 They had two children Sandra Borg and Mary Louise Heath 1 References edit a b c d C A Agemian 86 Former Executive At Chase Manhattan The New York Times April 1 1996 Retrieved October 5 2010 a b Bergen com An Armenian Story Charles Agemian by Stephen A Borg Archived February 26 2014 at the Wayback Machine December 1 2009 Ecker Allan B The Color of Money The First Ever Proxy Fight for the Control of a National Bank Stephen A Borg December 1 2009 An Armenian Story Charles Agemian Bergen com Archived from the original on February 26 2014 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Charles A Agemian amp oldid 1106564534, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
