Photo: Harley-Davidson
Following an ongoing period of economic downturn and lack of increased sales results, Harley-Davidson's President and CEO Matthew Levatich has stepped down from the company.
The leadership change sees Board member Jochen Zeitz rise to the occasion and become Acting President and CEO, with an external search firm being used to search for a new Harley-Davidson CEO through the end of March.
“The Board and Matt mutually agreed that now is the time for new leadership at Harley-Davidson. Matt was instrumental in defining the More Roads to Harley-Davidson accelerated plan for growth, and we will look to new leadership to recharge our business. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Matt for his 26 years of service to Harley-Davidson. He has worked tirelessly to navigate the Company through a period of significant industry change while ensuring the preservation of one of the most iconic brands in the world,” said Jochen Zeitz.
Even though Harley-Davidson has seen a continuous decline in global sales in the last few years, Friday's announcement that Levatich will step down was somewhat unexpected, especially after such a long career at the company.
That said, H-D (HOG) shares rose by about 5 percent in late trading following the news of the CEO's “mutual agreement step down,” so maybe investors do see this as an opportunity of growth for the Milwaukee-based bike maker. Still, the company's market capitalization is down by more than 50 percent from when Levatich took on the helms of Harley-Davidson five years ago.
There is more than one reason for the motorcycle carmaker's current form. An aging customer base and increased tariff costs following the beef with President Trump and his trade wars didn't do much good for the company's evaluation and sales either.
There is also the probability that Acting CEO Jochen Zeitz will remain at the helm of H-D indefinitely, especially since he's been with Harley since 2007 and has experience increasing sales almost 15 times during his tenure as the CEO of Puma, the sporting good company.
“The Board and Matt mutually agreed that now is the time for new leadership at Harley-Davidson. Matt was instrumental in defining the More Roads to Harley-Davidson accelerated plan for growth, and we will look to new leadership to recharge our business. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Matt for his 26 years of service to Harley-Davidson. He has worked tirelessly to navigate the Company through a period of significant industry change while ensuring the preservation of one of the most iconic brands in the world,” said Jochen Zeitz.
Even though Harley-Davidson has seen a continuous decline in global sales in the last few years, Friday's announcement that Levatich will step down was somewhat unexpected, especially after such a long career at the company.
That said, H-D (HOG) shares rose by about 5 percent in late trading following the news of the CEO's “mutual agreement step down,” so maybe investors do see this as an opportunity of growth for the Milwaukee-based bike maker. Still, the company's market capitalization is down by more than 50 percent from when Levatich took on the helms of Harley-Davidson five years ago.
There is more than one reason for the motorcycle carmaker's current form. An aging customer base and increased tariff costs following the beef with President Trump and his trade wars didn't do much good for the company's evaluation and sales either.
There is also the probability that Acting CEO Jochen Zeitz will remain at the helm of H-D indefinitely, especially since he's been with Harley since 2007 and has experience increasing sales almost 15 times during his tenure as the CEO of Puma, the sporting good company.
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