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Daniel A. (Dan) Ninivaggi (born June 27, 1964) is an American lawyer and business executive. Ninivaggi served in various executive positions with Lear Corporation, a U.S.-based Tier 1 automotive supplier. He then served as President and CEO of Icahn Enterprises L.P., the principal investment vehicle of U.S. billionaire Carl C. Icahn, from 2010 to 2014. Since February 2014, Ninivaggi’s has been Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Federal-Mogul Holdings Corporation, based in Southfield, Michigan, USA.
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Early life and education
Ninivaggi was born on June 27, 1964 in New York City and was raised in New York City and its suburbs. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in history from Columbia University in 1986. He went on to complete a master's degree in business administration from the University of Chicago in 1988 and a law degree from Stanford Law School in 1991.
Career
Ninivaggi started his career as an attorney with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (Chicago) and, thereafter, Winston & Strawn LLP (New York) where he became a partner in 1998, specializing in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions.
Ninivaggi first met Icahn while he was an executive at Lear Corporation. Icahn became a major investor in 2005 and ultimately made an offer to acquire the company for a significant premium. Management of Lear, including Ninivaggi, supported the take-over bid, arguing that there were major risks to the U.S. auto industry at the time and that Icahn’s proposal of over $5.3 billion constituted fair value. Shareholders rejected the deal in mid-2007. At the time, it was one of the largest corporate take-overs that was voted down by shareholders. Within months of the shareholder vote, the global economy began to deteriorate, the banking crisis ensued and Lear (as well as two of its largest customers, General Motors and Chrysler) were forced to file for bankruptcy protection. Ninivaggi resigned from Lear the week it filed for bankruptcy and returned to the practice of law at Winston & Strawn LLP.
Not long thereafter, in November 2009, Icahn nominated Ninivaggi to serve on the Board of Directors of CIT Group, a NY-based commercial lending institution that received emergency funding under the Troubled Asset Relief Program Fund (TARP). CIT became a bank holding company after its restructuring and Ninivaggi served as Chairman of the bank’s Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
In April 2010, Ninivaggi joined Icahn Enterprises L.P. as its President, overseeing Icahn’s portfolio companies and certain investments. He was promoted to Chief Executive Officer in August 2010. As CEO of Icahn Enterprises, Ninivaggi was involved in various industries, including oil refining, railcar manufacturing and leasing, telecommunications, automotive, textiles, real estate, food packaging and metals recycling. Ninivaggi also served on various boards, including the Board of Motorola Mobility at the time it was sold to Google, and was involved in several activist campaigns.
In February 2014, Ninivaggi joined Federal-Mogul, one of Icahn Enterprises’ portfolio investments, as Co-Chief Executive Officer to lead the company’s aftermarket business. Ninivaggi remained on the Icahn Enterprises board of directors until May 2015 when he became Co-Chairman of Federal-Mogul. Federal-Mogul, founded in 1899, is a $7.5 billion supplier of powertrain, chassis, driveline and safety products to the automotive, commercial vehicle, maritime, rail and aerospace industries. During his tenure at Federal-Mogul, the company launched strategies to revamp its distribution and IT systems, rebuild the company’s aftermarket brands and expand in emerging markets. The company also completed several significant acquisitions and strategic partnerships.