| Author | Message | ||
     Crusty |
From Cycle News Harley-Davidson, Inc. announced today that Jeffrey L. Bleustein, 65, has decided to retire as Chief Executive Officer, effective April 30, 2005. Mr. Bleustein will continue as Chairman of the Board of Directors. The Board announced that his successor as CEO will be James L. Ziemer, 54, currently Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Harley-Davidson, Inc. Today, Mr. Ziemer was elected to the Board and the Board size was increased to ten. Mr. Bleustein’s three decades at Harley-Davidson have been notable for both his personal attainments and the Company’s success. In 1981 a group of 13 executives purchased Harley-Davidson from AMF. As one of the 13, Mr. Bleustein helped the Company regain market share; and by 1987 Harley-Davidson recaptured its position as the leading heavyweight motorcycle manufacturer in the United States. In 1988 Mr. Bleustein became Senior Vice President, in 1990 he was promoted to Executive Vice President, and in 1993 to President and Chief Operating Officer. In 1997 he became President and Chief Executive Officer, and in 1998 he assumed his current role as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. This makes me nervous. How is this going to affect Buell? Is Ziemer a rider, or is he just another Bean Counter? Is he an enthusiast? Harley was almost killed by Bean Counters back in the late '70s; is history going to repeat itself? | ||
| Tramp  |
well, don't worry about harley, crust- when the bean counters dang-near killed hd in the 70s, harelys were already experiencing an all-time low-water mark in popularity, due to competition from imports and the vintage desire for faster, lighter bikes, unlike today, when cruisers are the rage. look at the success of occ et all. as to buell, well, time'll tell. frankly i don't see where bleustein was really pumping the marque anyway. let's see what happens. remmeber that when hd ceased the shovel, and even more recently the evo, a huge aftermarket bloomed to cover parts needs, and in many cases, superior (to oem) parts became more available to the average rider. i say th' hell with bleutsein either way | ||
| Bomber  |
tweren't bean counters that nearly killed HD in the dim time -- actually, the finance folks had been slowly bleeding it to death for years and years (since the war or before, in fact), but they were allowed to by people that "understood" motorcycles I heard Bleustein speak three times at Buell events -- likely about 90 minutes worth of talking, total -- he nver used the word motorcycle, any form of the verb ride, bike, scoot, or anything remotely close to any term other than "product." the good news is that the company prospered in spite (perhaps because) of that -- clearly, the guy knows how to run a business something tells me the new guy knows a thing or two of running a successful venture, as well -- | ||
| Court |
The simple "Bean Counter" generalization threatens to suck us into a vortex of inaccurate information possible leading to false assumptions. I'd urge you to recall that one of the persons, arguably the most, influential in Harley-Davidson's success was an Accounting graduate from Bradley.  For a complete, detailed, look . . . I'd suggest you read "More than a Motorcycle" and "Well Made in America". Court Of course.....I am married to a CFO, what do you expect me to say?  | ||
| Tramp |
and what about that cornell dude? |
