Harley Davidson scores victory in board battle aimed at removing CEO

Svea Herbst-Bayliss

Wed, May 14, 2025, 3:31 PM 1 min read

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Harley-Davidson connected Wednesday bushed backmost capitalist H Partners' connection to region 3 directors, including the CEO, the institution said successful a statement.

The triumph for Harley comes astir 1 period aft H Partners, the second-largest capitalist successful the motorcycle shaper with a involvement of 9.1%, stepped up its run to instantly propulsion retired Jochen Zeitz, who has tally the institution since 2020.

The institution did not item the ballot tally and 1 root acquainted with the numbers said it was a "razor-thin outcome" for Zeitz.

Proxy advisory steadfast Institutional Shareholder Services, whose recommendations often power however shareholders vote, said H Partners failed to marque "a compelling lawsuit for change" and urged investors to elite each of the company's directors.

H Partners has criticized the institution for declining income and a falling banal terms and has pushed to regenerate Zeitz with an outer candidate.

Zeitz is expected to discontinue this twelvemonth but has said helium would enactment until a replacement was found.

Shares of Harley, valued astatine $3 billion, person dropped 31% implicit the past twelvemonth arsenic the institution struggles to entreaty to caller generations of riders. On Wednesday, Harley shares dipped 0.3% to adjacent astatine $24.92.

The voting results were archetypal reported by the Wall Street Journal.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss successful New YorkEditing by Matthew Lewis)