Failure to select a new CEO to lead Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson contributed to Jared Dourdeville’s recent decision to resign from the company’s board, according to a new SEC filing from the company. Dourdeville submitted his resignation earlier this month, listing several of his concerns about how the company is being run and the future of the
Failure to select a new CEO to lead Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson contributed to Jared Dourdeville’s recent decision to resign from the company’s board, according to a new SEC filing from the company.
Dourdeville submitted his resignation earlier this month, listing several of his concerns about how the company is being run and the future of the iconic brand. A partner at New York-based H Partners Management, Dourdeville's letter of resignation references what he describes as a “depletion” of Harley-Davidson. He said while he was aware most of the company’s white-collar employees work remotely most of the time, a recent discovery of the extent of work-from-home caused him alarm. This, coupled with a “revolving door of senior leadership,” has further depleted the company’s culture, Dourdeville wrote. He also called into question the company's “Hardwire” strategy, which relies heavily on re-investing in Harley’s core touring and cruiser lines despite those products not receiving “meaningful updates in more than a decade,” he said. Dourdeville also cited the company’s handling of a campaign run by political activist Robby Starbuck as another reason for his departure, saying the "incident was grossly mismanaged."
A search process to find the company’s next CEO began in the fourth quarter of 2024 after current CEO Jochen Zeitzexpressed interest in retiring at the end of 2025 – the final year of the company’s Hardwire strategic plan. Chicago-based executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles was tapped to lead the search.
[caption id="attachment_610548" align="alignleft" width="300"] Jared Dourdeville[/caption]
As part of the search process, Harley’s board considered three final candidates for the role of CEO. None of the candidates received majority support from the board, according to the recent SEC filing from Harley-Davidson.
There was a 4 to 4 split vote on March 28 for the candidate that Dourdeville supported.
Harley claims Dourdeville wrote the company “immediately after his candidate wasn’t selected” and began “abruptly attacking his fellow directors.”
"During his tenure as a director, Mr. Dourdeville was aligned with the strategy developed by management and approved by the board and fully supported its implementation by management,” said the company in Tuesday’s filing. “In fact, in recent letters that he sent to the company, Mr. Dourdeville highlighted the value of the company’s 'iconic' brand and made clear that the 'centerpiece' of the company’s five-year strategic plan, the Hardwire was 'a central element of (H Partners’) investment thesis' that he himself 'fully supported.'”
Dourdeville fired back at Harley-Davidson in yet another letter (dated April 11), stating the company has mischaracterized the events and boardroom dynamics that led to his resignation.
He explained that in February of 2025, Harley’s board was setting dates for a final round of CEO candidate interviews. Dourdeville said he had assumed the board would indeed select a new CEO, so he did not object to the company’s slate of directors as they were presented for election at the board's February meeting. Dourdeville voted in favor of of re-electing all of the company’s directors. Later, in his letter of resignation, Dourdeville recommended that board members Tom Linebarger and Sara Levinson resign.
Representatives from Harley-Davidson say Dourdeville never vocalized any of the issues he raised in his letter of resignation while serving as a member of the board. But Dourdeville argues that several of the cultural issues he cited in his resignation letter were never brought to the board as matters to vote on.
“The suggestion that I did not voice any concerns during my time on the board is false, and furthermore, it clearly ignores my efforts to work constructively and collaboratively within the board setting on times such as product development plans, dealer profitability, dealer inventory, remote-work policies, company culture and other topics,” wrote Dourdeville.
Further, Dourdeville claims he voiced his concerns about Harley’s remote work policies in several executive session meetings of the board.
“Debate around this issue was unilaterally squelched with the response, ‘That’s a non-starter for our CEO,’” wrote Dourdeville.
He reemphasized his belief that there are “many issues plaguing the company that require urgent attention.”
