Analyst: Harley-Davidson’s Levatich ‘highly respected by dealer network’
Following the announcement by Harley-Davidson of CEO Keith Wandell’s pending retirement and the naming of Matt Levatich as the new CEO, BMO Capital Markets Corp. analyst Gerrick Johnson provided a research note to Powersports Business
Johnson reports that Levatich, chief operating officer since 2009, “is highly respected by the dealer network, and we know of few executives in the industry with his depth of product knowledge, creativity, passion, and determination. These attributes will serve Harley well as it continues its transformation.”
Johnson also lauded Wandell’s success during his tenure.
“Mr. Wandell is credited for strong leadership that helped transform the company since his hiring in 2009. He extracted concessions and increased flexibility from the unions, reorganized its manufacturing operations and outsourced non-core functions, implemented ‘surge’ capacity, shut down or sold off non-core brands (Buell and MV Agusta), and introduced revolutionary new ‘Rushmore’ touring motorcycles. We believe Mr. Wandell, coming from the outside, was the right leader at the right time and he leaves the company in significantly better shape than when he took over.”
