Harley board member quits due to ‘underperformance’ and ‘cultural depletion’

Jared Dourdeville, partner at New York-based H Partners Management and an independent board director at Harley-Davidson since 2022, abruptly resigned last week, penning a letter listing his concerns about how the company is being run and the future of the iconic brand.

In a letter to the board, Dourdeville detailed his concerns for the future of the Motor Company. This comes on the heels of the announcement that the CEO, Jochen Zietz, would retire after five years at the helm.

Dourdeville’s critical letter was posted on SEC.gov on April 5, shortly after the letter he sent on April 1. While he alleges Harley’s current management team shows “severe underperformance,” he has more significant concerns with the company overall.

“What I am most concerned about are the foundational building blocks that underpin the company’s long-term trajectory: culture, transparency and accountability, and the willingness of the board and management to put the company first,” he writes.

Dourdeville’s letter points to a “depletion” of Harley-Davidson. He also took aim at the manufacturer’s white-collar employees who mostly work remotely, which he believes is cause for concern for a company known for its culture and community. His letter points to a cultural shift since Zeitz has been in charge, citing a “revolving door of senior leadership” that has taken a toll on the company’s culture.

Dourdeville specifically questions Zeitz’s “Hardwire” strategy, which aimed to invest more in Harley’s core touring and cruiser models despite those products not receiving “meaningful updates” in over a decade.

“The outcome of Jochen (Zeitz’s) Hardwire strategy so far is worrying,” Dourdeville writes. Touring and cruiser unit sales have declined over 20% since 2019, and the dealership network is flooded with excess inventory.”

Harley faced criticism last summer after a political activist launched a social media campaign on X (formerly Twitter) to expose the company and its DEI goals. The company revised several policies, calling the move an “internal stakeholder review.”

“I believed that the company’s entire response to this incident was grossly mismanaged,” Dourdeville said about the activist campaign. “I also believe that the incident may have had a material and lasting impact on customers’ relationship with the Harley-Davidson brand.”

However, Harley-Davidson claims Dourdeville never discussed his concerns while serving as a board member. Although he was critical of Zeitz and his strategy, the company says he also supported the CEO and his vision of the future at that time. So, there’s trouble in paradise, and Harley needs a fresh start. But will it be enough to calm the loyalists and please the investor crowd?