Lordstown Motors Appoints Ninivaggi to Dual Role of CEO/Chairman
LORDSTOWN, Ohio – Lordstown Motors Corp. has appointed current CEO Daniel Ninivaggi to Chairman of the Board of Directors, the company announced Thursday.
Ninivaggi will now serve in both capacities. The combined duties took effect immediately following the company’s annual stockholder’s meeting Thursday.
He replaces outgoing chairwoman Angela Strand, who was elected as an independent director during the company’s meeting.
It was Strand who stepped in as acting CEO after former Lordstown Motors CEO Steve Burns resigned after the company found executives had misrepresented the number of pre-orders for the Endurance, an all-electric pickup now in pre-production at the Lordstown assembly plant, now owned by Foxconn. Ninivaggi was brought on as CEO in August 2021.
“Dan and his team have made significant progress in the transition to a scalable business model, starting with the Endurance launch and the partnership with Foxconn, and these appointments reflect both the progress and board’s confidence in Dan and his management team,” Strand said.
As CEO, Ninivaggi helped successfully steer the sale of the Lordstown plant to Foxconn for $230 million, plus negotiated vital contract manufacturing and joint venture agreements with the Taiwan-based tech company.
Lordstown Motors also announced Thursday that at its annual meeting of stockholders, Joseph B. Anderson, Jr., Laura J. Soave and Angela Strand were elected as independent directors.
Anderson and Soave are new directors, and each has extensive experience in the global automotive industry, the company said.
Incumbent director Strand is joining the board’s compensation committee, Anderson will serve as a member of the audit committee and Soave will serve on the nominating and corporate governance committee of the Board of Directors.
“We are truly excited to have Joe and Laura join our board,” Ninivaggi said in a statement. “Each has deep and relevant automotive and executive experience and will make valuable contributions to Lordstown as we bring the Endurance to market and reposition the company,” he said. “
Ninivaggi also thanked retiring directors Michael Gates and Martin J. Rucidlo for their service on the board.
David T. Hamamoto, a current independent director and chairman of the board’s nominating and corporate governance committee, will serve as lead independent director.
Hamamoto led DiamondPeak Holdings Corp., the special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, that took Lordstown Motors public in October of 2020.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
