What’s The Latest in the Harley-Davidson-Shareholder Fight
Harley-Davidson’s ongoing battle with shareholder H Partners is set to come to a head on May 14
A shareholder meeting is scheduled on May 14, during which Harley-Davidson and H Partners will discuss the control of the H-D board.
According to reports, H Partners has launched a “withhold-the-vote” campaign, which is targeting three Harley board members, including Harley-Davidson CEO Jochen Zeitz, who has confirmed he will leave his role later this year.
H Partners claims that the board is not aligned with shareholder interests and that it has led to the CEO succession process being mishandled. That argument came about after H Partners' preferred candidate failed to gain majority support from the board. That same candidate resigned from his role as a result.
However, Harley-Davidson is disputing these claims and instead has allegedly urged shareholders to vote in favour of its director nominees. The company has received backing from influential proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), which has recommended support for Harley’s full slate of directors.
The ISS cited the board’s recent performance and governance practices in its report, saying, “The company has demonstrated operational improvements and outperformance relative to peers under the leadership of the current board and management. Replacing key directors, including the outgoing CEO during a pivotal leadership transition, would introduce undue risk.”
ISS then went on to claim continuity is key when searching for a new CEO, suggesting Harley-Davidson’s normal practice should be followed.
ISS said: “Given the timing and context, removal of these directors could undermine the board’s ability to manage the CEO succession process successfully.”
While Harley-Davidson remains keen on sticking to its previous system when appointing a CEO, it also confirmed it wants to act in the best interest of its shareholders.
A statement said: “We are pleased that ISS recognizes the strength of our board and governance structure, as demonstrated by our comprehensive CEO search process,” said Tom Linebarger, Presiding Director of the Board.
“We believe it also highlights the flaws in H Partners’ actions and the disruption their campaign is bringing to the board’s ongoing efforts. ISS’s recommendation underscores the board’s important role in effectively overseeing management’s execution of the Hardwire strategic plan, which ISS acknowledges is positively impacting the company amid challenging and volatile macroeconomic conditions.
“We continue to believe that H Partners’ true intentions are to circumvent sound corporate governance practices by seeking appointment of unelected and unnamed Directors, solely to control the outcome of the CEO search process – a notion that ISS acknowledged. We remain committed to acting in the best interests of all shareholders.”
Find the latest motorcycle news on Visordown.com
After graduating with a sports journalism degree, Robert joined Crash.net to lead the WorldSBK coverage in 2021, while also providing MotoGP coverage. Fulfilling that role for over three years, Robert was able to put his knowledge about all things racing to the test.
