Harley-Davidson has had a tough 12 months to date, however a vivid spot simply emerged. After releasing some less-than-stellar financial reports, together with being threatened by the current American administration’s proposed tariffs—one thing that drastically affected the Motor Co. final time round—it discovered itself dealing with a board of directors coup last month.
However that is throughout, because the coup has simply totally and spectacularly failed.
On the coronary heart of the problem was Harley’s CEO, Jochen Zeitz, announcing his retirement, which was set to happen on the finish of the 12 months. As you’d anticipate from a publicly traded firm like Harley, the model’s board of administrators rapidly went to work on the lookout for Zeitz’s substitute, interviewing three candidates inside weeks of him informing them of his choice.
Nonetheless, a scuffle occurred behind the scenes with one of many administrators and the remainder of the board. Jared Dourdeville, one of many managing companions at H Companions Administration—one in every of Harley’s largest traders—hoped to elect the CEO candidate of his choosing. Nonetheless, the remainder of the board disagreed, thanked the interviewees, and kindly despatched all of them packing.
Dourdeville, in a barely infantile tantrum, resigned his place on the board after which went about fomenting a coup to not solely oust Zeitz but additionally board members Thomas Linebarger and Sara Levinson.
After leaving the board, and filing numerous salacious SEC filings, together with launching a marketing campaign to hopefully entice further investors to vote in opposition to the board and oust Zeitz, Linebarger, and Levinson, Dourdeville and H Companions Administration’s coup evaporated right now as Harley’s shareholders voted to elect the board of administrators and hold Zeitz in his place till a brand new CEO might be discovered this 12 months.
“Harley-Davidson, Inc. (the “Firm” or “Harley-Davidson”) (NYSE: HOG) right now introduced that the preliminary outcomes of its 2025 Annual Assembly of Shareholders (the “Annual Assembly”) point out that Harley-Davidson shareholders have elected all of Harley-Davidson’s Director nominees,” says the discharge from the model, including that shareholders elected “Jochen Zeitz as Chairman, President and CEO, Norman Thomas Linebarger as Presiding Director, Troy Alstead as Director, James Duncan Farley, Jr. as Director, Lori Flees as Director, Allan Golston as Director, Sara Levinson as Director, Rafeh Masood as Director, and Maryrose Sylvester as Director.”
For these automotive followers at residence, James Duncan Farley, Jr., is Ford’s present CEO Jim Farley.
The election of each Harley-Davidson board member, together with Lori Flees, who the company tapped to replace Dourdeville on the board, is simply icing on the cake for the Motor Co. because it strikes on with this complete fiasco that is occupied a lot of the final month. Linebarger, one of many board members Dourdeville and firm attacked in current weeks, mentioned, “On behalf of the whole Board and administration staff, I wish to lengthen our gratitude to our shareholders for his or her belief and assist. We admire the precious views and suggestions our shareholders have supplied main as much as our Annual Assembly, and we stay up for persevering with to interact going ahead. The Board stays dedicated to executing its duties in the perfect curiosity of all of the Firm’s shareholders.”
Whereas Harley can lastly transfer ahead, it nonetheless has a hill to climb. As I discussed earlier, its monetary returns have not been nice, LiveWire is basically DOA, tariffs could continue to plague the company, it wants to herald new customers, and the board nonetheless must discover a CEO who can, conceivably, proper the ship briefly order. And that is loads for them to tackle. They are going to, nonetheless, be capable to lastly deal with these points now that this boardroom dramedy is lastly over.
I will simply say I would entertain a suggestion to interview for Harley’s CEO, and that I am open to getting a Harley-Davidson crest tattoo—I have already got a bunch, so what’s one other?—to seal the deal. You’ve my quantity, Harley-Davidson. Name me.
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