Edward S. “Eddie” Lampert (born July 19, 1962) is an American businessman, investor, and financier .Lampert is the chairman of Sears Holdings Corporation (SHLD) and the founder, chairman, and CEO of ESL Investments. Until May, 2007 he served as a director of AutoNation, Inc. He previously was a director of AutoZone, Inc. from July 1999 until October 2006.
- Edward S. Lampert
- Edward S. Lampert: ESL Investments
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Life and Career
In 1984, Lampert graduated from Yale University with a B.A.in economics, summa cum laude. In college, he was a member of both the Skull and Bones and Phi Beta Kappa. He interned at Goldman Sachs, starting July 1984. He worked in the firm’s risk arbitrage department from March 1985 until February 1988. He worked directly with Robert Rubin; when Lampert decided to form his own company, Rubin warned him that it was a bad career decision.
In 1988, he left the bank to found ESL Investments which is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. The name ESL comes from Lampert’s initials, Eddie S. Lampert. Richard Rainwater, whom he had met on Nantucket Island, gave him $28 million in seed money and introduced him to potential clients, such as David Geffen.