Charles A. Agemian

Born in Aleppo, Syria in 1910, Agemian was a nationally known 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 Corp., which later was renamed Garden State National Bank. Old Town Aleppo viewed from the Citadel Aleppo is also the name of two townships in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. ... The Chase Manhattan Bank was formed by the merger of the Chase National Bank and the Bank of the Manhattan Company in 1955. ...

After attending Columbia University in New York City, Agemian graduated from the American Institute of Banking and the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University.

Agemian began his banking career in 1927 as a messenger for the Bank of Manhattan Co. After rising through the ranks in operations, Mr. Agemian was named vice president and deputy controller when the Bank of Manhattan Co. and Chase National Bank merged in 1955. A year later, he became vice president and controller, and, in 1959, controller general.

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. On Jan. 1, 1970, he became chairman and chief executive officer of Hackensack Trust Corp. 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. The Chase Manhattan Bank was formed by the merger of the Chase National Bank and the Bank of the Manhattan Company in 1955. ... Steve Ross (September 17, 1927 - December 20, 1992) was responsible for the 1990 merger of Warner Communications and Time Inc. ... Kinney National Company was formed in 1966 when the Kinney Parking Company and the National Cleaning Company merged. ... Warner Communications, formerly Kinney National Company, was the parent company for Warner Bros. ...

Shortly after taking over, Mr. Agemian changed the bank's name to Garden State National Bank, and, a year later, merged with North Jersey National Bank of Hudson County. Because of the Federal Bank Holding Corporation Act, 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. This transaction required Mr. Agemian's resignation from the Warner Communications board so he could continue as chairman and chief executive officer of Garden State. William A. Conway was born on April 16, 1910 and died on March 31, 2006. ... Warner Communications, formerly Kinney National Company, was the parent company for Warner Bros. ...

Agemian retired from Garden State in 1981 but remained active as a faculty member at the Stonier Graduate School of Banking and Pace University. Agemian died in 1996. Pace University See also: Pace University High School Pace University is a private, co-educational and comprehensive multi-campus university with campuses in New York City and Westchester County in the U.S. State of New York. ...