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.