It seems that the bad financial and business situation that Harley-Davidson drags in recent times, has unleashed the perfect storm within its board of directors. The reason is none other than the attempt of “coup d’etat” by Jared Dourdeville, one of the horn partners of H Partners Management (one of Harley’s largest investors), to the brand’s board of directors.
Harley-Davidson in the search for a new CEO
Everything comes following the announcement of his early retirement by Jochen Zeitz, current CEO of Harley-Davidson. After five years as the maximum executive representative of the Yankee firm, Zeitz leaves behind a legacy that includes the total break with the path followed by Harley until that moment.
Perhaps the time chosen to make this decision has not been the best, when the brand is going through such pressing problems as the pessimistic sales figures that the brand has presented in its annual account report, or how they will do to overcome the tariff policy imposed by Trump.
As a consequence of the announcement of Zeitz Harley-Davidson he has been searching for a new general director for the company and this is where Dourdeville enters the scene who hoped to be the one who placed the new CEO of the brand by finger. Undoubtedly, the current Board of Directors opposed this attitude with the consequent Pateta of Dourdeville himself, which announced his resignation of the Board of Directors.
From here a media battle has begun where Jared Dourdeville has openly declared to expel other members from the board of directors, including the names of Thomas Linebarger and Sara Levinson, in addition to Jochen Zeitz himself, which at the moment continues to have in his hand the baton of command. After this grotesque episode, the brand issued a statement in which they indicated that the shareholders:
“They elected Jochen Zeitz as president, general director and executive director, Norman Thomas Linebarger as Director President, 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”, As they detail from Ride Apart.
As we see the soap opera in which Harley-Davidson is in these moments, it continues to offer us little flattering chapters in relation to the future of the brand. We will cross your fingers because this situation changes radically in the coming weeks and/or months.
