HARLEY-DAVIDSON has announced that Jim Ziemer, its chief executive officer, will retire next year.
The motorcycle maker said its board had formed a search committee to review both internal and external candidates for a replacement. Ziemer, 58, will remain CEO until his replacement is picked and in place, the company said.
Ziemer's 40-year career with Harley-Davidson began in 1969, when he worked as a freight elevator operator while he was still earning a degree in accounting at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
After graduation, Ziemer joined Harley's accounting department, where he spent most of his career. In 1990, he was named the company's chief finance officer and in 2005 he was named CEO.
