Stefan M. Selig

Stefan M. Selig (born 1963) is a former Bank of America investment banker, confirmed as Under Secretary for International Trade at the Department of Commerce on June 4, 2014.

Early life and education

Selig grew up in New York and attended the Dalton School on the Upper East Side. He graduated from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut with a B.A. in 1984. He attended Harvard Business School, earning an MBA in 1988.

Career

In 1984, Selig joined First Boston Corp, where he worked in the mergers and acquisitions department for the investment bankers Bruce Wasserstein and Joseph Perella. In 1988, he joined Wasserstein's and Perella's own firm, Wasserstein Perella & Co., which has been described as a training ground which helped create "a dynasty of bankers and executives that has spread throughout Wall Street and corporate America".[1]

Later he became a partner at Berenson Minella & Co., a boutique investment bank where he organized high-profile buyouts, including the $65 million+ takeovers by CCMP Capital and Apollo Advisors of Gerber Products Co.’s Buster Brown children's apparel subsidiary, the acquisition by Castle Harlan Inc. of MAG Aerospace Industries Inc. from Vestar Capital Partners Inc., and Chemical Venture Partners purchase of Chiquita Brands International’s Speciality Meat Group in 1994.

In 1994, Selig joined UBS as head of its financial sponsor group and as co-head of mergers and acquisitions. After 4 years he moved to Société Générale in 1998. He worked for Bank of America from 1999 until 2014, where he rose to executive vice chairman of global corporate and investment banking. He has been "known for advising on consumer and retail deals".[2] He advised on the 2013 sale of Yankee Candle Co. to Jarden Corp. for $1.75 billion; from 2007 to 2010 he worked on a number of deals for L Brands, parent company of Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works to buyout firm Sun Capital Partners Inc. L Brands chief executive Leslie Wexner applauded the nomination.[2]

Selig is a Democrat, but has not been a "big Democratic donor or operative".[3]

Under Secretary for International Trade, 2014-present

On November 6, 2013, President Barack Obama nominated Selig as Under Secretary for International Trade at the Department of Commerce to replace Frank Sanchez. In February 2014 Salon.com wrote that Selig "received more than $9 million in bonus pay ... in addition to the $5.1 million in incentive pay awarded in 2013.[4]

During the United States congressional hearing before the Senate Committee on Finance on 8 May 2014 it became known that Selig invested in offshore funds of buy-out firm Sun Capital Partners Fund V, which "in 2010 was domiciled [...] in the Cayman Islands, and in 2012 [...] at the now infamous Ugland House."[5] Selig’s Schedule 2012 K-1 tax document, showed the value of his account was $721,802 and another investment in Conversus Capital, of Trafalgar Court, St. Peter Port, Guernsey Channel Islands was worth $1,123,523 in 2012.[5] Orrin Hatch (R) reminded the committee that President Obama had characterized these types of investments as “betting against America" during his 2012 election campaign.[5]

Upon his confirmation on June 4, 2014, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker mentioned that Selig's core priorities will be the 'Open for Business Agenda', the National Export Initiative and the expansion of SelectUSA, to attract and facilitate more investment in the US.[6]

Personal

Selig is married to Heidi Selig, employed at Extensis VIII Inc.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Andrew Ross Sorkin (April 27, 2007). "One of the Best Recruiters in the Neighborhood". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Dana, Mattioli (7 November 2013). "Bank of America’s Selig Nominated for Commerce Department Post". WSJ. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  3. ↑ Lattman, Peter (7 November 2013). "White House Names Senior Bank of America Executive to Commerce Post". NYT. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  4. ↑ Lennard, Natasha (18 February 2014). "Obama trade officials received huge bank bonuses". Salon.com. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch. "Hatch Statement at Finance Committee Hearing on Trade and Social Security Advisory Board Nominations". Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  6. ↑ Pritzker, Penny (6 June 2014). "Statement from U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker on the Confirmation of Stefan Selig as Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade". US Dept of Commerce. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  7. ↑ "Stefan M Selig". Filer. US Office of Government Ethics. Retrieved 13 May 2014.