Harley-Davidson has had a rough year so far, but a bright spot just emerged. After releasing some less-than-stellar financial reports, along with being threatened by the current American administration's proposed tariffs—something that greatly affected the Motor Co. last time around—it found itself facing a board of directors coup last month.
But that's all over, as the coup has just utterly and spectacularly failed.
At the heart of the issue was Harley's CEO, Jochen Zeitz, announcing his retirement, which was set to take place at the end of the year. As you'd expect from a publicly traded company like Harley, the brand's board of directors quickly went to work looking for Zeitz's replacement, interviewing three candidates within weeks of him informing them of his decision.
However, a scuffle occurred behind the scenes with one of the directors and the rest of the board. Jared Dourdeville, one of the managing partners at H Partners Management—one of Harley's largest investors—hoped to elect the CEO candidate of his choosing. However, the rest of the board disagreed, thanked the interviewees, and kindly sent them all packing.
Dourdeville, in a slightly childish tantrum, resigned his position on the board and then went about fomenting a coup to not only oust Zeitz but also board members Thomas Linebarger and Sara Levinson.
After leaving the board, and filing numerous salacious SEC filings, along with launching a marketing campaign to hopefully entice further investors to vote against the board and oust Zeitz, Linebarger, and Levinson, Dourdeville and H Partners Management's coup evaporated today as Harley's shareholders voted to elect the board of directors and keep Zeitz in his position until a new CEO could be found this year.
"Harley-Davidson, Inc. (the "Company" or "Harley-Davidson") (NYSE: HOG) today announced that the preliminary results of its 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the "Annual Meeting") indicate that Harley-Davidson shareholders have elected all of Harley-Davidson's Director nominees," says the release from the brand, adding 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 those automotive fans at home, James Duncan Farley, Jr., is Ford's current CEO Jim Farley.
The election of every Harley-Davidson board member, including Lori Flees, who the company tapped to replace Dourdeville on the board, is just icing on the cake for the Motor Co. as it moves on with this whole fiasco that's occupied much of the last month. Linebarger, one of the board members Dourdeville and company attacked in recent weeks, said, "On behalf of the entire Board and management team, I would like to extend our gratitude to our shareholders for their trust and support. We appreciate the valuable perspectives and feedback our shareholders have provided leading up to our Annual Meeting, and we look forward to continuing to engage going forward. The Board remains committed to executing its duties in the best interest of all the Company's shareholders."
While Harley can finally move forward, it still has a hill to climb. As I mentioned earlier, its financial returns haven't been great, LiveWire is basically DOA, tariffs could continue to plague the company, it needs to bring in new customers, and the board still needs to find a CEO who can, conceivably, right the ship in short order. And that's a lot for them to take on. They will, however, be able to finally focus on those issues now that this boardroom dramedy is finally over.
I'll just say I'd entertain an offer to interview for Harley's CEO, and that I'm open to getting a Harley-Davidson crest tattoo—I already have a bunch, so what's another?—to seal the deal. You have my number, Harley-Davidson. Call me.
