Mel Allan Shaftel

Mel was born on August 10, 1943, in Manhattan, son of the late Edward G. Shaftel and Florence Shaftel (Cohen). He grew up in Brooklyn and graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1960. After a post-graduate year at Cheshire Academy in Cheshire, Connecticut, Mel attended Yale University, where he studied Economics and played tackle on the football team, graduating in 1965. He cherished his time at Yale and the special friends he made there, both on and off the football field, friendships he nurtured and valued immensely until the time of his death.

After Yale, Mel returned to New York City, where he met his wife, Pamela Geraci. They married in 1969 and raised their family in Summit, New Jersey, where they made special, forever friends with whom they spent many treasured times at backyard barbecues, on ski trips and tropical getaways, and at precious holiday gatherings.

Mel began his career in finance at Chase Manhattan Bank after receiving his MBA from New York University. Mel then moved to Wall Street where, beginning in 1978, he began a de-novo investment banking business covering financial institutions. By 1990, Mel had created one of the major Financial Institutions Groups in the industry. He was particularly proud of opening the European investor market for US financial institutions.

In 1990, Mel became Head of Global Investment Banking for Lehman Brothers. Between 1990 and 1995 Lehman Brothers went from being number five to number two in the world in overall capital-raising. Under Mel’s leadership, Lehman also more than doubled its international footprint.

In 1996, Mel became Vice Chairman of Lehman Brothers, before retiring in 1998, after which he co-founded Rosetta Partners LLC, which he continued to manage until his death.

Colleagues remember Mel’s collegial management style, unusual on Wall Street during his era, and he was a thoughtful, serious, aggressively honest and involved life-long mentor to hundreds of younger bankers. In his impressive and long career on Wall Street, Mel made many close friends and earned the respect of everyone.

Mel and Pam became part of the Sunapee, New Hampshire community in 1990, spending time in the summers and throughout the year in its peaceful and serene surroundings, a stone’s throw from where Mel spent childhood summers at Camp Birchbrook, where his father was director. In addition to enjoying the environment, the family time, and the neighbors they met at Brown’s Hill Farm, Mel also served as a board member of Colby-Sawyer College in New London, NH, for many years.

Mel held several leadership positions in alumni networking for Yale, and he cherished working alongside his classmates, all of whom he greatly respected and whose company he enjoyed immensely. Each week for the last several years right up until his death, he looked forward to connecting with classmates on a Sunday Zoom call, precious protected time during which his family knew not to disturb him.

Mel also held corporate directorships, including at First Priority Financial Corp. and Millenium Bank.

Mel impacted everyone he worked with and met, and he cherished the relationships he developed with family, friends and colleagues from all aspects of his life, and treated everyone he met as his equal. He was particularly devoted to his six grandchildren, closely following all of their endeavors—sporting, academic, and artistic—cheering them on, and offering to provide sweet treats whenever desired. Along with his devotion to his family, Mel nurtured his relationships with his friends from all parts of his life through regular lunches and dinners.

In addition to his beloved wife of 57 years, Pamela, Mel is survived by his two children, Lauren (Matthew) Williams of Madison, CT and David (Flora Stubbs) Shaftel of Brooklyn; his niece, Nicole Geraci of Manhattan; his brother, Andrew Shaftel of Manhattan; and his six grandchildren, Jeb, Aubrie, Zeke and Maisy Williams, and Stella and Leo Shaftel; as well as several beloved cousins and second cousins. His was as near a flawless life as it is possible to live.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Mel’s memory to Yale University/ Shaftel Family Scholarship, PO Box 2038, New Haven, CT 06521 or call Fiona Boucher, (203) 432-8651.