Harley-Davidson, Inc. is seeking a new CEO after incumbent executive Jochen Zeitz presided over a motorcycle sales downturn and was accused of pushing a woke agenda.
The classic American motorcycle company confirmed the news in a press release Tuesday, informing the public that Zeitz expressed a desire to retire after a five-year tenure as CEO.
He oversaw the company through a recent decline in sales and the pushing — and then subsequent rolling back — of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies. The CEO and the company have also faced a wave of criticism from disgruntled customers.
Between 2022 and 2024, motorcycle sales dropped in all but one quarter compared to the same quarter from the previous year, according to data from Harley-Davidson – Investor Relations.
In August 2024, the company announced it would be ditching DEI as well as restructuring its Business Employee Resource Groups (BERGs). The company previously described the BERGs as its “version of affinity groups and networks,” according to a post on SHRM CEO Action. Three of the BERGs — African American, Latina and Asian — were labeled with racial or ethnic categories. (RELATED: ‘As Woke As You Can Possibly Get’: Daily Caller Reporter Analyzes Harley Davidson’s Retreat From ‘Woke’ Policies Amid Customer Backlash)
The policy reversal came after activist Robby Starbuck alleged the company “funded an all ages pride event” accompanied by a drag queen story time, forced employees to train to be LGBTQ allies and dispatched white male employees to a segregated diversity training. Zeitz put his signature to the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion Pledge, according to Starbuck.
It’s time to expose Harley Davidson.@harleydavidson has been one of the most beloved brands in America but recently on CEO Jochen Zeitz’s watch, they’ve gone totally woke.
Here’s some of what we found:
• Openly supports “the equality act” which would allow men into girl’s… pic.twitter.com/15kPUy8WVY
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) July 23, 2024
Multiple bikers expressed their dissatisfaction with Zeitz and the company to the Daily Mail last year. “Harley needs to stick with building bikes and leave the wokeness alone,” said Earnest Chapman, a 30-year Harley owner.
Another biker, 56-year-old Nick Randall, called out Zeitz directly. “I just can’t figure out why he was installed in that role if this is what is happening now,” he told the Daily Mail. “They need to figure out a way to get rid of his ass.”
Zeitz, who was born in Germany, appeared dead-set on pushing his motorcycle company in a different direction. In 2023, he told Dezeen that the company would be transitioning their bikes to be all electric, though he said it would be a long-term process. “It’s not something you do overnight,” he said.
He was so focused on environmental policies that he said he earned the moniker “sustainable Taliban” during a 2014 talk at the Zermatt Summit Foundation, a public interest group of business and other interests.
Zeitz was also criticized President Donald Trump’s 2017 decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accords.
“Sadly with this decision the Trump Administration is choosing to turn its back on the rest of the world,” he said, according to the B Team, a nonprofit organization advocating for transforming the corporate board room regarding “sustainability, equality and accountability.” Zeitz is a co-founder of the group, their website said.
The woke CEO of Harley Davidson attacked President Trump after he left the Paris Climate Change agreement by saying that the Trump Admin. chose to “turn its back on the world.”
I don’t think Jochen Zeitz attacking Trump is going to be popular with @harleydavidson riders!
Harley… pic.twitter.com/VFRW8gCbHP
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) August 3, 2024
Zeitz will remain CEO until the company’s board of directors finds his successor, according to the company’s statement.