Connie S. Maniatty

CONNIE S. MANIATTY, Wall Street Executive, lifelong philanthropist, beloved husband, father and brother, died peacefully at his home in Westport, on January 8, 2010 at the age of 90. His wife of 61 years, Betty, was at his side. He joined Salomon Brothers in 1943, he became a General Partner in 1960 and remained so until his retirement in 1979, when he became a Limited Partner, then Honorary Partner in 1982. Due to a series of mergers, his most recent position was Honorary Managing Director of Citigroup. "Connie was my first boss at Salomon Brothers back in 1966, and I was lucky to land under him, he was a great mentor and a true gentleman. Sitting right next to him, I learned the business of bond trading and every day saw the importance of hard work and honest leadership." Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor, City of New York. "Connie Maniatty was responsible for a whole generation of Salomon Partners who went on to succeed and revolutionize the capital markets. He taught us to work hard and think outside the box, but most of all to do the right thing. We will miss him. Lewis Ranieri, Former Vice Chairman, Salomon Brothers, Founder & GP of the Hyperion Group, CEO of Ranieri & Co. "As incredibly successful as he was professionally, he had such a passionate enthusiasm for his friends, his tennis game, his charities, his alma mater, and most importantly his family. He was as loyal a friend and as good an example of a true gentleman as you will ever find in this worldbut God help you if you were up a game on him in the third set. It was then best to just get out of the way, as his fiery competitive streak was unleashed. Boy, he hated to lose, but he was always just as graceful in defeat, as he was in victory. I learned a lot of lessons from Mr. Maniatty, all of which I carry with me today, and I will miss him very much." Sean McManus, President, CBS News & Sports. After graduating from Deerfield Academy, he went to New York City and entered Columbia College, graduating in 1943. This was also the beginning a lifelong love affair with both the city and the school. He worked tirelessly raising money for Columbia and became a huge supporter of Columbia Athletics. "We have lost our true lion, a great man, a great friend, a great trustee and the best Columbia lion ever. I can never thank him enough for what he did for me when I was coaching Columbia football and how he helped me when I left. Without Connie there would be no football program and no Bill Campbell. I can honestly say that I have never known anyone that I respected more." William "Bill" V. Campbell, Chairman of the Board & former CEO, Intuit Inc. Mr. Maniatty lent support to many athletic programs, not just football. He has provided financial backing to every female and male athletic team at Columbia and Barnard for the past 40 years. "Without a doubt, there is no one I've ever known who gave more of himself to Columbia and Columbia football. Moral, financial, any support - he was always there. Connie enabled us to do things that we could not have accomplished without his support. He believed strongly in women's athletics, and when we began them in the early 1980's, he contributed to them. The NCAA limits recruiting budgets to funds contributed by alumni, and we would never have been able to recruit for women's teams, which of course had no alumnae, if he hadn't been supportive. He also gave strong support to the building of Wien Stadium. I don't think we could ever have gotten it off the ground, if it hadn't been for Connie." Al Paul, Director of Athletics, Columbia University 1974 to 1991 Indeed, Mr. Maniatty worked for 17 years to get Columbia a new football stadium. Finally a very large donation by Larry Wein, as well as large donations from Mr. Maniatty and his best friend, Eugene Remmer, got the project up and running. Mr. Maniatty and Mr. Remmer also funded the building of an Alumni Lounge in Wein Stadium named in their honor. The Maniatty-Remmer Alumni Lounge opened September 22, 1984. "Connie was Mr. Columbia University. He already is terribly missed by all the students who were there and those who have wanted to enter. I will never forget his kindness and generosity; it was a great honor to have known him. He will be in my prayers forever." Dr. Julius Maldutis, President and Chief Airline Analyst for Aviation Dynamics, Inc. Mr. Maniatty was elected to the Board of Trustee's of Columbia University in 1973 and served until 1985 when he became a Trustee Emeritus. He also served Columbia well in many other capacities. He was an Executive Committee Member, Chairman of the President's Alumni Advisory Committee on Athletics, Chairman of the Columbia Football Advisory Committee for 35 years, a member of the Columbia College Board of Advisors from 1975-1983 and Permanent President of the Columbia College Class of 1943. Columbia honored Mr. Maniatty for his exceptional efforts by awarding him the Columbia Alumni Medal, the Columbia Varsity "C" Athletic Award, the John Jay Award in 1982, the Father Ford Award of Distinction in 1986. He was also awarded two citations from the Catholic Society of Columbia University, one of which was the Menton Award, and was an honored member Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity. In 2006, he was inducted into the Inaugural Columbia Athletics Hall of Fame in recognition of his continued support of Columbia Athletics. Retirement was not in Mr. Maniatty's vocabulary. In 1979, the same year he "retired" from Salomon Brothers he was elected to the Board of Trustees of Norwalk Hospital, Norwalk, CT and served two consecutive three year terms. He was elected Secretary to the Board of Trustees from 1983 to 1984 and Vice Chairman from 1984 to 1986. In December of 1986, Mr. Maniatty was named Chairman of the Board and was re-elected to an unprecedented nine consecutive terms. He stepped down in 1995. While still Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Mr. Maniatty founded the Norwalk Hospital Foundation and was named Chairman at its inception in 1989. He remained Chairman until 2006. During his tenure at Norwalk Hospital, more than $80,000,000 was raised for the capital improvement project which literally transformed the hospital for the 21st century from a small city hospital into one of the most highly regarded hospitals in the state. Mr. Maniatty was honored by Norwalk Hospital on October 13, 1995 with a huge Gala attended by many celebrities, prominent philanthropists and state dignitaries alike. "Connie, one of the longest serving Chairmen of Norwalk Hospital, distinguished himself by his steady and stern leadership during a time when hospitals were at risk of being absorbed into larger medical systems and with financial restraints, threatening extinction. His commitment to our remaining a Community Hospital was unswerving and will forever be his legacy."Carol B. Bauer, former Chairman of the Board, Norwalk Hospital. Throughout his many years in business, philanthropy and health care leadership, Mr. Maniatty has been strengthened by a special resource unique to him - the interest and support of Betty Maniatty, a wife whose background in nursing has further underscored his feelings of responsibility about insuring quality health care in their community through Norwalk Hospitalnot only today, but tomorrow as well. At Mt. Holyoke College Mr. Maniatty set up a scholarship in the name of his sister, Anne S. Maniatty, which she attended. In Mr. Maniatty's hometown of Westport, he was an active member of the Fairfield County Hunt Club and was on the Board of Trustees from 1977 to 2009. He served as President from 1980 to 1982. In addition, he was a Trustee of the Nature Center from 1971 to 2005. Mr. Maniatty always felt indebted to the men and women who protect us at home. In their honor, he created the Scholarship Fund for any Westport Police or Fire