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Paul Kolton, a Stamford resident and former head of the American Stock Exchange, died Oct. 27 in Stamford at age 87. Kolton, whose birth name was Paul Komisaruk, was born June 1, 1923. He was a World War II veteran, having served in the U.S. Army, and a graduate of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Early in his career he wrote magazine stories and was a New York Journal of Commerce reporter. He applied his communication skills in the New York Stock Exchange public relations department, which he joined in 1955. By 1962 he had become vice president. Kolton left that year to join AmEx as executive vice president. He became president in 1971. A year later he began serving as AmEx's chairman, a post he held until his retirement in 1977.
His ascension within AmEx was unique because he'd never been employed as a stockbroker. During his leadership at AmEx, the notion of merging with the New York Stock Exchange was considered. Kolton resisted that move, arguing that separate entities would be more effective than a combined structure. Another distinctive aspect of his time as AmEx chairman was its 1975 establishment of options trading.
After his retirement from AmEx, Kolton maintained involvement with several companies and organizations, including serving as chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council.
Kolton is survived by his wife of 66 years, Edith; a daughter, Shelley Kolton of New York; a son, Robert Kolton of Armonk, N.Y., and five grandchildren and one great-grandson.
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