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BloombergBusinessweek July 27, 2020Harley-Davidson Gets
An Unlikely Rider
MentionthenameHarley-Davidson,andvisionsof
high-handledbikesgrowlingdownendless,sun-
streakedhighwaysinstantlycometomind.Whether
it wasthe1951-52PanheadChopperthatPeterFonda
rodeacrossthecountryinEasyRiderorthe 1991
FatBoyinArnoldSchwarzenegger’snail-biting chase
scene in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the bikes have
always been able to evoke a powerful feeling of
American nostalgia and freedom.So what is Jochen Zeitz, a European
environmental activist and celebrated African art
collector, doing behind the handlebars of the U.S.’s
most iconic motorcycle manufacturer? He’s trying
to save it from becoming an anachronism.
Zeitz, who took over as chief executive officer of
Harley-Davidson Inc. in February, is under pressure
to turn around the storied company, whose heavy-
weight $22,000 bikes are prized by aging boomers
but not so much by millennials.
He’s an unlikely savior. Unlike the Midwestern
accountants and engineers who’ve led Harley over
its 117-year history from its Milwaukee headquar-
ters, 57-year-old Zeitz grew up in Germany and
graduated with a degree in international marketing.● The motorcycle icon tapped
a German environmentalist to
stem its U.S. slideEdited by
James E. Ellis