MILWAUKEE — A scathing resignation letter by a Harley-Davidson board member is drawing attention for its concern regarding the future of the 122-year-old Milwaukee-based motorcycle company.
Jared Dourdeville tendered his resignation April 5th in a five-page letter to the board, citing both poor leadership and a poor corporate culture at Harley-Davidson.
Included in the letter was a call for the resignation of company President and CEO Jochen Zeitz, which Dourdeville says he requested on April 1st. “Unfortunately, thus far we have not made any meaningful progress, which I believe is necessary in order to set the Company on a renewed path to restore trus with key stakeholders and ultimately unlock the Company’s full potential” said Dourdeville.
Just days after Dourdeville’s resignation, Zeitz announced plans to retire from the CEO position.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Harley-Davidson CEO plans to retire
“The Cultural Depletion of Harley-Davidson”
In a heavily redacted portion of the letter obtained by WTMJ, Dourdeville references what he calls the company’s “cutural depletion”, specifically regarding remote work policies.
“I was aware of the fact that most white-collar Harley-Davidson employees were working remotely most of the time. And while I always questioned the merits of a virtual company, Jochen Zeitz’s previous success at running [sporting goods company] PUMA from a Boston satellite office – coupled with the early-days constraints of a COVID environment – reassured me somewhat. What I wasn’t aware of until recently, however, was just the extent of this white-collar-work-from-home policy.” writes Dourdeville. “At its highest levels, Harley-Davidson lacks a winning culture…Without an in-person presence, I unfortunately do not see any way to perpetuate the Harley-Davidson culture and community.”
The letter goes on to express concern over a lack of quality entry-level products to attract first-time motorcycle riders, citing a 75% fall in sales of those products since Zeitz became CEO in 2020. “New riders are the lifeblood of our Company, and without a product to attract these custoomers, I am concerned about our long-term outlook” said Dourdeville.
Robby Starbuck Campaign
Dourdeville also too umbrage with how Harley-Davidson handled a targeted social media campaign against the company by political activist Robby Starbuck, who first posted in July that the company had “gone totally woke”. Within a month of the post, Harley-Davidson announced it was ending some of its diversity, equity and inclusion goals.
“I believe that the Company’s entire response to this incident was grossly mismanaged,” writes Dourdeville. “I also believe that the incident may have had a material and lasting impact on customers’ relationship with the Harley-Davidson brand.”
Harley-Davidson’s Response
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday, Harley-Davidson responded to points made in Dourdeville’s resignation letter. Regarding his remote work concerns, the company said while they continue to evolve their operating model and working culture, it has “largely used the same widely publicized hybrid and remote working model for certain salaried roles since Mr. Dourdeville joined the Board in February 2022, allowing the Company to benefit by hiring from national and international talent pools. Mr. Dourdeville never raised this as a concern in Board meetings or called for a change in approach.”
Regarding the Starbuck campaign, Harley-Davidson said “In his letter, we believe Mr. Dourdeville makes misleading statements relating to the Company’s activity in response to an activist campaign targeting the Company in 2024.”
Dourdeville’s resignation and Zeitz’s retirement annoucement both come amid a tough financial time for the 122-year-old company; Harley-Davidson reported a net loss of $117 million in last year’s fourth quarter, and shipped 53% fewer motorcycles in its latest quarter than a year earlier, with revenue from motorcycles falling 60%, representing a worsening of financial results from the previous lackluster quarter.
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