Modine Manufacturing Company
Leadership History
2 leaders · 2008 to present
Neil D. Brinker is the CEO of Modine, in the role since 2020. The first chief executive was Thomas A. Burke, from 2008.
| Name | Role | From | To | Years in role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neil D. Brinker | President and Chief Executive Officer | 2020 | Present | 6 |
| Thomas A. Burke | President and Chief Executive Officer | 2008 | 2020 | 12 |
Modine Manufacturing designs and builds equipment that moves heat. Its products range from the chillers and air handlers that cool AI server halls to classroom ventilation units, refrigeration coils and radiators for trucks and construction machines. Headquartered in Racine, Wisconsin, with about 13,200 employees as of March 31, 2026 and operations in North America, South America, Europe and Asia, Modine generated $3.18 billion in fiscal 2026 net sales.
Modine sells engineered thermal-management equipment to businesses, not consumers. In fiscal 2026 (ended March 31, 2026) it reported through two segments. Climate Solutions, which grew about 43% in the year, covers data center cooling (chillers, computer-room air handlers, fan walls and coolant distribution units sold under brands such as Airedale), commercial HVAC and ventilation (including Scott Springfield air handlers), refrigeration and heat-transfer coils. Performance Technologies supplies radiators, charge-air coolers, battery thermal systems and other components to commercial-vehicle, off-highway and industrial OEMs. Revenue comes from equipment and component sales, often under multi-year programs with OEMs and hyperscale data center customers, plus aftermarket parts. After the planned October 1, 2026 spinoff of Performance Technologies into Gentherm, the remaining company is a Climate Solutions business focused on data centers, HVAC and refrigeration.
President and Chief Executive Officer
2020 – Present
6 years (current)
Brinker aggressively executed the '80/20' restructuring strategy, deliberately abandoning low-margin, legacy automotive contracts to focus entirely on high-margin data center cooling.
As CEO, he orchestrated one of the most successful industrial turnarounds of the decade, pivoting the struggling auto supplier into a critical infrastructure provider for the AI boom.
President and Chief Executive Officer
2008 – 2020
12 years
Burke oversaw the massive $422 million acquisition of Luvata HTS to diversify Modine away from vehicular components and into industrial heating and cooling.
During his 12 years as CEO, he struggled to consistently grow margins due to the severe cyclicality of the global commercial vehicle market before retiring in 2020.
Modine's growth now leans heavily on data center spending by a small number of hyperscale and colocation customers, so a pause in AI infrastructure build-outs would hit sales quickly. It also has to add factory capacity fast, integrate recent HVAC acquisitions, manage aluminum and copper costs, and execute the Performance Technologies separation and Gentherm merger without disrupting customers.
Arthur B. Modine (1885 to 1968) was an American mechanical engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur who founded Modine in 1916 and led the company for over 30 years as President, CEO, and Chairman. Arthur Modine held over 120 patents, inventing the Turbotube radiator, the unit heater, and modern vehicular cooling architectures.
Appointed President and CEO in December 2020, Neil D. Brinker engineered one of the most celebrated corporate turnarounds in American manufacturing. Brinker instituted the 80/20 operating model, expanded data center cooling into a core growth pillar, acquired Scott Springfield, doubled operating margins, and expanded Modine's market capitalization more than tenfold.
Thomas Burke served as CEO from 2008 to 2020, guiding Modine through the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, expanding global manufacturing footprints into China and Eastern Europe, and acquiring British data center cooling specialist Airedale International in 2005.
Mick Lucareli serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, having spent over two decades at Modine. Lucareli partnered with Neil Brinker to execute the 80/20 transformation, manage capital structure, allocate cash flow for strategic acquisitions, and communicate the data center growth strategy to Wall Street.
Eric McGinnis serves as President of the Climate Solutions segment, leading the global expansion of Airedale data center cooling, commercial HVAC systems, and custom air handling operations across North America and Europe.
Prior to joining Modine, Neil Brinker served as President and COO of advanced manufacturing firm Advanced Energy and held senior executive leadership roles at Rexnord and Danaher Corporation, where he mastered the well-known Danaher Business System (DBS) and 80/20 continuous improvement methodologies.
CEO Neil Brinker and his executive team mobilized emergency capital expenditure to convert underutilized manufacturing plants into data center assembly cleanrooms, doubling liquid cooling distribution unit (CDU) manufacturing capacity within months.
Neil Brinker envisions Modine as the global technology leader in mission-critical thermal management: engineering zero-emission cooling solutions for hyperscale AI computing, green buildings, and electric transportation worldwide.
Neil Brinker was appointed President and CEO of Modine in December 2020. Previously the Chief Operating Officer of Advanced Energy and a senior executive at Danaher, Brinker brought elite operational discipline and the Danaher-style 80/20 playbook to Modine, successfully pivoting the 100-year-old auto parts maker into a premier high-tech AI infrastructure provider.
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