After graduating from Bernard Baruch College for Business at the City University of New York with a BBA degree, Mel joined the Greater New York Mutual Insurance Co. in 1964. By the end of 1967, he attained the position of Senior Multi Peril Underwriter. Mel moved on to join Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith in September 1967. In this position, Mel had the priviledge of working under Donald T. Regan who was the CEO of the Company and former Sec. of the Treasury under Ronald Reagan, Mel spent five years there. The next position was a Manufacturer Rep. in his own business selling to major dept stores thru out the country, representing such names as Gucci Intl and Arpege Fragrances. In 1983, Mel joined Merrill Lynch in Worcester, MA where he rose to the position of Vice President. In December 2002, Mel retired after 24 years of service to Merrill Lynch.