H Partners is one of the largest shareholders of Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG) with an approximately 9.1% ownership stake. In order to put Harley-Davidson back on the path to success, H Partners has filed a preliminary proxy statement with the SEC to solicit fellow shareholders to vote WITHHOLD on the election of three incumbents – CEO and Chairman Jochen Zeitz, Presiding Director Thomas Linebarger and 29-year director Sara Levinson – at the Company’s 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.
Whether you are a dealer, shareholder or rider, H Partners wants you to have a voice in the process of finding a new CEO and reconstituting the board of directors. The organization made headlines when its board member publicly called for CEO Jochen Zeitz and others to be ousted.
Major Execution Issues Under Current Leadership: Over the last year, it has become increasingly apparent to H Partners that meaningful change is necessary at both the Board and CEO levels at H-D, including due to:
• Major execution issues at H-D, overseen by an absentee CEO
• A CEO and Presiding Director who have not been fully transparent with the rest
of the Board
• Certain long-tenured Board members who have been unwilling to hold the
CEO accountable for severe value destruction and the cultural depletion of this
iconic American company
• Shareholder Value Destruction: H-D’s long-tenured directors – Jochen Zeitz, Thomas
Linebarger and Sara Levinson – have an alarming record of shareholder value
destruction. Following 18, 17 and 29 years on the Board, change is overdue.
• Poor Performance: The underperformance of H-D under Mr. Zeitz is undebatable.
Since Mr. Zeitz was appointed Chairman and CEO on February 28, 2020, there has
been an approximately $1.8 billion decline in Harley-Davidson’s market value.
• Low Dealer Sentiment: H Partners is not the only stakeholder who has observed
these issues: dealer sentiment is near a decade-long low.
• Failed Hardwire Strategy: H-D appears to have failed to achieve nearly every
objective outlined in its long-term Hardwire Strategic Plan, including its promise of
driving profitable growth and shareholder value.
• Inability to Course-Correct: H Partners believes H-D’s poor performance is also due
to an inability to course-correct, in part because the CEO and Presiding Director have
seemingly prevented the appropriate flow of information to the Board, and the Board
has been unwilling to hold the CEO accountable for his failures.
All dealers, shareholders and riders are encouraged to access their free tool kit which will enable them to better understand the situation and have their voices heard. Click here:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/793952/000092189525001130/ex1todfan14a10304005_041825.pdf
