Harley-Davidson director nominees elected despite shakeup effort
Harley director nominees elected
Shareholders elected the full board the Harley-Davidson asked for despite a months-long campaign from one of the company's biggest investors.
MILWAUKEE - The proxy war among investors at Harley-Davidson is over – at least for now. Shareholders elected the full board the company asked for on Wednesday despite a months-long campaign from one of the company's biggest investors.
Board reelected
By the numbers:
Investors returned all nine board nominees, including CEO Jochen Zeitz, to their posts with Wednesday's vote. A news release said preliminary voting also indicated shareholders voted in favor of all other proposals submitted for a vote at the Annual Meeting.
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A source with knowledge of Wednesday's meeting told FOX6 News that Zeitz received 48% of costs cast "withhold," meaning he was just 2% away from losing his seat.
"For it to be that close was – kind of surprising," said Margaret Hughes-Morgan, a Marquette University associate professor of management.
Harley-Davidson Motor Co.
The other board nominees included presiding director Tom Linebarger and directors Troy Alstead, James Duncan Farley, Jr., Lori Flees, Allan Golston, Sara Levinson, Rafeh Masood and Maryrose Sylvester.
Final results will be tabulated and certified by the independent inspector of elections and reported in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Harley-Davidson, H Partners at odds
What they're saying:
In a statement, Harley-Davidson's Presiding Director Tom Linebarger said:
"On behalf of the entire Board and management team, I would like to extend our gratitude to our shareholders for their trust and support. We appreciate the valuable perspectives and feedback our shareholders have provided leading up to our Annual Meeting, and we look forward to continuing to engage going forward. The Board remains committed to executing its duties in the best interest of all the Company's shareholders."
After the vote, Linebarger thanked shareholders for their trust and support in him.
Harley-Davidson Motorcycles
The other side:
Former board member Jared Dourdeville wrote a scathing letter in his resignation from Harley-Davidson's board just over a month ago. Dourdeville's firm, H Partners, had called for the immediate resignations of two board members and CEO Jochen Zeitz, who is retiring.
H Partners owns more than 9% of Harley-Davidson's stock. It urged investors through its "Free The Eagle" campaign to "withhold" votes for Zeitz, Linebarger and Levinson. The group accused Zeitz of mismanaging the company and its culture, and the board of not holding Zeitz accountable.
Jochen Zeitz; Tom Linebarger; Sara Levinson
While investors returned all nine board nominees and Zeitz to their posts with Wednesday's vote, H Partners noted all three members committed to leave their posts some time next year.
H Partners sent FOX6 News a statement that read, in part: "We are pleased that our campaign forced the board to engage directly with stakeholders that they had long ignored, including dealers, employees and shareholders."
What's next for the motor company?
Dig deeper:
When tens of thousands of bikers roll into Milwaukee eight weeks from now for the annual Harley-Davidson Homecoming, the noise won't be in the boardroom anymore.
"I think that they're going to be just fine. They have a brand, a worldwide brand at that matter, that really is almost unbeatable," said Hughes-Morgan.
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The Marquette professor also called the vote a win for Harley-Davidson that should bring confidence to investors and the thousands of people the company employs.
What's next:
Hughes-Morgan said the company needs a forward thinker as its next chief executive.
The Source: The information in this report is from FOX6 News interviews, Harley-Davidson and Business Wire.