Daniel S. Laikin is an American business executive. He served as

chief operating officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the "C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if t ...

and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of National Lampoon, Incorporated from 2002 to 2008.

Life and career

Laikin served as co-chairman of

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

-based real estate development company Biltmore Homes, Inc., until 2000. He also served as a managing partner of technology investment firm Four Leaf Partners, LLC. In 2001, Laikin's group moved to buy a majority stake in J2 Communications Inc., the owner of the moribund '' National Lampoon'' properties.Laikin group grabs controlling stake.
'' Indianapolis Business Journal'' From 2002 forward they built media businesses around the brand, becoming active in film, television, radio, print, as well as building the largest Internet based comedy network in the world. Laikin was the largest shareholder of National Lampoon, Incorporated. In December 2008, the SEC alleged Laikin conspired to inflate the company's stock price. In 2010, a federal judge sentenced Laikin to 45 months in prison. He was released in 2012. Laikin was replaced by

Tim Durham Timothy Shawn Durham Sr. (born 1962) is an American former lawyer and businessman convicted in 2012 of the largest corporate fraud ever investigated by the FBI in Indiana. His investment firm Obsidian Enterprises invested in a number of companies, ...

, who himself was arrested in 2011 for looting more than $200 million from the company.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laikin, Dan Living people 1962 births American chief operating officers American chief executives in the media industry