In Appreciation of Ed Mennis: Editor, Mentor To Many in NABE

In recognition of his leadership and friendship, NABE members paid tribute to Ed Mennis and recalled his many contributions to the economics profession, to NABE, and to individual members.  Mennis died on March 18 in California at age 89.

A prolific author of articles on economics, investments, and other aspects of finance, Mennis also wrote a widely used book on the nuts and bolts of economics and he supervised the project that resulted in the publication of NABE’s 25th anniversary history volume in 1989.

In NABE’s early years, Mennis said in his preface to the history that one of his “more vivid” memories involved his work with program chairman Chuck Reeder in the fall of 1960, when presidential candidate Richard Nixon invited himself to speak at the NABE annual meeting.

Mennis also wrote in the preface of his connections with what was to become NABE:  “In 1959, I was working as a financial analyst and economist for the Wellington Fund, a mutual fund based in Philadelphia. While there, I frequently attended an informal luncheon group presided over by Dolf Abramson, economist for SKF Industries, at which he often talked about the desirability of forming an association of business economists.”

Credited With Transforming Business Economics

Many years later, in the mid-1980s, Mennis took the helm of Business Economics and he is widely credited with transforming it to the research journal that has attained stature as a leading refereed periodical, now in its 44th year.

Many members fondly recall working with Mennis during the years (1985-1999) that he served as editor of Business Economics.  He became editor emeritus in 2000, but continued to write book reviews for the journal through most of 2008.

Each year NABE presents the Edmund A. Mennis Contributed Paper Award, created in 1999, upon his retirement as editor.  The award consists of a cash prize and free attendance at the NABE Annual Meeting, where the paper is presented. The paper is later published in Business Economics.

Upon his retirement from Business Economics, Mennis was recognized by then-NABE President Bob Parry, who called his “imprint on NABE and our profession wide, deep, and enduring.” 

“From April 1985 to October 1999, Ed served as editor of Business Economics and steadily changed our journal to meet the tremendous, revolutionary challenges to the field of business economics,” Parry said.  He credited Mennis with helping to make the journal into “a more effective and relevant tool to deal with our rapidly changing economic and financial environment.”  Parry worked closely with Mennis for many years when Mennis was head of Security Pacific Investment Management and Parry was chief economist of Security Pacific Corporation.

Honored By Name As Fellow, BE Award in His Name

Mennis was named a NABE Fellow in 1960 and in 1996 he received the David L. Williams Lifetime Achievement Award for his exceptional service to NABE.  As Parry noted, Mennis also received several other major professional awards for his work in investment and financial analysis.

His book  “How the Economy Works: An Investor's Guide to Tracking the Economy” continues to be used in college classes and has been translated into Chinese for sale in Taiwan.  He also co-authored “Quantitative Techniques for Financial Analysis, Revised Edition,” initially published by the Financial Analysts Research Foundation in 1971.  For many years this text was used as the text for the statistical component of the certified financial analyst (CFA) exam.

To several NABE past presidents, Mennis was a mentor and friend, whom they credit with easing their transition to becoming professional economists.  Here are tributes and remembrances sent to NABE:

Gil Heebner, NABE president from1975-1976, wrote:  “I share your sorrow at Ed Mennis' passing.  I knew him since the 1960s in Philadelphia when he was with Wellington Management Company.  He was part of a business economists' discussion group there, the antecedent of the present Philadelphia chapter of NABE.  We remained good friends as his career path took him to Texas and California. The record of his accomplishments stands for itself, but I want to say that he was a credit and a role model to the fraternity of business economists—a thoroughgoing professional and a true friend of so many of us.”

Duncan Meldrum, NABE president from 2003-2004, recalled his personal connection with Mennis, as well as his support as a mentor as Meldrum became active in NABE.  He wrote: “I had Ed's book "How the Economy Works" sitting in front of me when I saw the first e-mail announcing his passing.  I had been reviewing it to help with some communications I was working on, and had been wondering in what ways he might update it.”

“Ed was a gentleman in the best sense of the word.  He also was a wonderful mentor to me in my early years as a business economist.  Ed gave me some wonderful guidance during my NABE Board years, always in a sensitive and well-thought-out way.  His many accomplishments put him at the top of a number of professions, all of which will be poorer now that he is gone.  More important, everyone who knew him lost a kind, true and irreplaceable friend.”

Richard Rippe, NABE president from 1990-91, recalled meeting Mennis in the late 1970s on a trip to California for his employer Baker, Weeks and Company. He wrote:

“Despite the fact that he was a senior member of the profession and I was still wet behind the ears, he listened to my presentation with interest (and, I suspect, a sizable portion of sympathy). We discovered a common interest in the analysis of corporate profits, which we continued to discuss for many years.”

“Ed and I got to know each other much better through our work with NABE.  Of course, the whole profession has benefited from his enormous efforts to turn Business Economics into a top-flight professional journal for business economists.  He encouraged me to contribute several papers to Business Economics and worked with me to round them into publishable form after approval by referees.  He delivered his suggestions and criticisms in a most collegial manner.  I certainly benefited from his attention.”

“Being a modest man, he never told me about his extensive service to our country in both World War II and the Korean War.  The sacrifices he and his family made in that period serve as a reminder of why his is called the `greatest generation.’ I will miss Ed’s friendly smile, his courtly manner, and the opportunity to have an ongoing dialogue with him on the great economic and business questions of our time.”

Frank Schott, NABE president from 1977-78 recalled Mennis’s “pioneering work on the CFA (Certified Financial Analyst) designation in the  1960s and 70s, which was my inspiration for my original suggestion, in 1978, to develop a professional designation for business economists.  Ed bolstered all CFAs by his work on the CFA Journal and the establishment of a home base at the University of Virginia for academic accreditation.”

“Later on, Ed was the soul of Business Economics.  During his decades of editorship he contributed materially to the growing recognition of this paper as a major professional journal.  Anyone could be and should be proud of such a life's work.”

Jay N. Woodworth, NABE president from1988-89, described Mennis as “one of a handful of NABE stars who really put the organization on the map as a highly professional organization.  In particular, his many years of service as editor of Business Economics turned our journal from a collection of folksy `how we do our jobs’ pieces into a publication with timely articles on economic issues that are important to economists, business executives, academics, and government policymakers.  Through Ed's efforts, NABE gained considerable respectability. He will be missed.”

The complete obituary of Ed Mennis is available at: http://nabe.com/publib/mennis09.html