MW Harley-Davidson's latest roadblock: An activist shareholder who wants to oust its CEO

By Steve Gelsi

H Partners says current board is not qualified to choose a new leader

Harley-Davidson Inc. continues to face a rough road ahead as one of its largest shareholders said Wednesday the current board of directors of the company is not qualified to pick the iconic American motorcycle maker's next chief executive.

H Partners, an activist shareholder that has shaped the paths of mattress maker Tempur-Pedic and Six Flags Entertainment Corp. $(FUN)$, said Wednesday it plans to vote against three board members at Harley-Davidson's 2025 annual meeting.

The move comes after Harley-Davidson $(HOG)$ said April 8 it has launched a search to replace retiring CEO Jochen Zeitz.

H Partners said Zeitz should be removed immediately and voted off the company's board of directors, along with board members Thomas Linebarger and Sara Levinson, according to a filing.

"The current board, which is tightly controlled by a small number of entrenched board members, cannot be trusted to oversee crucial decisions, including CEO succession," H Partners said.

H Partners, which owns 11.3 million shares, or about 9% of Harley-Davidson's stock, said the company should name an interim CEO until an external candidate is chosen.

MarketWatch has requested comment from Harley-Davidson on the matter.

The blowup with H Partners comes as the latest pothole for Harley-Davidson, which has seen its stock price drop 28% in 2025, much more than the 8.3% decline by the S&P 500 SPX.

The stock fell 0.2% to $21.56 a share in premarket trading on Wednesday.

Griffin Bryan, analyst at D.A. Davidson, issued a buy rating on Harley-Davidson stock on April 8, set a price target of $31 a share, and said he wasn't surprised that the struggling Milwaukee-based manufacturer planned to find a new CEO.

"The company has faced several headwinds over the years including a financially stretched consumer base, rising rate environment, DEI initiative pushback, tariff headwinds, and disappointing new model-year performance," Bryan said.

"Dealers and customers we've spoken with in the past have questioned HOG's leadership as of late, and we feel a refresh of the brand could be an incremental positive to the long term story."

Also read: Harley-Davidson's stock slips after Q4 loss amid 'cyclical headwinds for discretionary products'

-Steve Gelsi

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April 16, 2025 08:23 ET (12:23 GMT)

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