Polaris announces leadership moves with EVP of global operations and CTO retirement

Polaris has announced that executive vice president (EVP) of global operations and chief technology officer (CTO), Ken Pucel, will retire in April, following a notable nine-year career with the Minnesota-based company.

“Ken has been an instrumental leader, operational advisor and trusted colleague during his career with Polaris,” says Mike Speetzen, Polaris CEO.

Pucel joined Polaris in 2014 as EVP of operations, engineering, and lean, and was named CTO in 2022. During his tenure, he was responsible for the global growth and expansion of Polaris’ operations. Pucel oversaw the company’s efforts to enhance its lean capabilities, refine its supplier and logistics operations, and invest in its operational processes.

Speetzen says Pucel made many impactful contributions to the organization, from improving safety to enhancing the capabilities of its operations and product development processes to navigating the unprecedented complexity of the supply chain and logistics during the pandemic.

“His laser focus on quality and passion for the industry has helped Polaris raise the bar for quality, performance, and innovation,” says Speetzen. “Ken has built a strong foundation that leaves us well-positioned for continued growth and operational excellence well into the future. Under his leadership, we are situated to take the next step in our evolution to become a more business-unit-oriented, customer-focused organization.”

Leadership Moves

Polaris is elevating and expanding the roles of the following leaders to continue delivering on its long-term growth strategy, and to more closely align operations and engineering teams into its Global Business Units:

Tony Kinsman, vice president of Off-Road Engineering, has been appointed CTO in addition to his current responsibilities. In his expanded role, Kinsman will oversee its engineering department and technology development while driving increased integration between Polaris’ engineering teams.

Kinsman will dual report to Speetzen and Steve Menneto, president of Off-Road. A 20-year veteran with the company, Kinsman has a keen understanding of Polaris, along with extensive technical and leadership expertise, having spent his career in various Off-Road and engineering roles focused on vehicle design, development, and technology integration.

To reinforce its operations, Polaris’ sourcing and logistics teams will move under Marc Suarez, vice president of Polaris Off-Road Operations. Suarez will be responsible for driving deeper alignment between business teams and its strategic sourcing and logistics plans. He will continue to report to Menneto. With more than 25 years of operations experience, he is an experienced leader with a strong track record of success, who previously held key leadership roles at Daikin, United Technologies, Easton Bell Sports, and Whirlpool.

To support critical centralized needs and continue lean manufacturing across the enterprise, Polaris is naming Doug Adrian as vice president of Quality & Operational Excellence. He will report to Speetzen. He will lead critical centralized areas of focus, including quality, central manufacturing, employee health and safety, lean (mfg.), and indirect sourcing.

Adrian brings more than 25 years of experience in operations, quality, and process development. He joined Polaris in 2020, most recently serving as vice president and general manager of Godfrey and Hurricane within the Polaris Marine segment.

“Tony, Doug, and Marc will bring a wealth of understanding and experience to these roles. Building on the path that Ken laid out, now is the natural time to continue the progress of our organization’s evolution and transition several areas of formerly centralized operations closer to key stakeholders that can drive impactful decisions while maintaining important cross-company teams that foster cohesion in critical areas across our businesses,” Speetzen remarks.

To support these leaders in their new and expanded roles, Pucel will transition into a strategic advisor role until he officially retires in April.