Edmund Addi Mennis

Mennis, Edmund Addi
August 12, 1919 - March 18, 2009
A resident of the Palos Verdes Peninsula since 1973, Ed Mennis passed away on March 18, 2009. An economist and investment management consultant, he also was active in a number of civic organizations on the Peninsula. A native of New York City, he received a BA from City College of the College of the City of New York, graduating with honors in 1941. In 1946, he received a Masters Degree in Economics from Columbia University, and in 1961 he received the Ph.D. degree in Economics and Finance from New York University Graduate School of Business Administration. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1945 and later in the Korean War from 1951 to 1953, honorably discharged with the rank of Captain. During his early career he was Director of Research of the Wellington Management Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that is now a part of the Vanguard Group. He was also a Senior Vice President and Chairman of the Trust Investment Committee of Republic National Bank of Dallas, Texas. In 1972 he became a Senior Vice President and the head of the Institutional Investment Management Department of Security Pacific National Bank, Los Angeles, California. A few years later, his department was made a subsidiary of Security Pacific Corporation and he became Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, a position from which he retired in 1981. He continued as an investment consultant and editor and writer throughout the remainder of his life. In 1967-1968, he was a member of the economic advisory committee of the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and in 1981-1983 he was a member of the investment advisory panel of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the Federal organization that insures corporate retirement plans. During his career, he was active in professional organizations and received several awards for his work. He chaired the committee of the Financial Analysts Federation that first assembled the body of knowledge on which Financial Analysts were tested to receive recognition as a Chartered Financial Analyst. He served a two-year term as the President of the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts in 1970-72. In 1972, he received the Nicholas Molodovsky award and in 1978, he received the C. Stewart Sheppard award from the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts for his contributions to the education of financial analysts. He was a member of the National Association for Business Economics from its inception in 1959. He was elected a Fellow of NABE in 1961 and served on the governing council from 1966-69. He was the Editor of "Business Economics", the professional journal of NABE from 1985-1999, and editor emeritus in 2000. In 1996, he was awarded the David L. Williams Lifetime Achievement award for his many contributions to the organization. He was the author of numerous articles, book chapters, monographs and books on economics and finance. His book, "How The Economy Works", has been used in a number of college courses in economics and has been translated into Chinese for sale in Taiwan. He also co-authored? "Quantitative Techniques for Financial Analysis", initially published by the Financial Analysts Research Foundation in 1971, which was used for many years as the basic text for the statistical component of the CFA examination program. In local community affairs Ed served several terms as treasurer of Peninsula Friends of the Library. He also served on the finance committee of Little Company of Mary Hospital and also served as treasurer of the Little Company of Mary Hospital Foundation. He was also active on the financial advisory committee of the City of Palos Verdes Estates. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Selma (Tres) Mennis, a son, Daniel Liam Mennis (Linda), of Pasadena, California, a daughter, Ardith Grace Garland (Stephen) of Boston, Massachusetts, as well as six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Services were held Saturday March 21st at St. Lawrence Martyr Church in Redondo Beach and Green Hills Cemetery in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. In his memory, contributions are being made to the Sister Terrence Landini Foundation at Providence Little Company of Mary 4101 Torrance Boulevard, Torrance, California 90503, (310) 540-7676.