(Reuters) -Harley-Davidson said on Monday that Arthur Starrs would succeed Jochen Zeitz as chief executive officer, a transition aimed at helping the motorcycle maker cope with numerous challenges from slowing sales to bearing the impact of tariffs.
He will have the mandate to steer the company through persistent issues owing to the Trump administration’s broad tariffs that led Harley-Davidson to withhold its full-year forecast last week.
The current CEO Zeitz will continue as a senior adviser to the company through February 2026. Harley in April said Zeitz planned to step down from his role this year.
Earlier this year, H Partners had proposed the removal of three Harley directors, including CEO Zeitz, criticizing the company for declining sales and a falling stock price. The company, however, beat back the proposal through a shareholder vote.
The company last week announced the sale of loans worth over $5 billion to KKR & Co and PIMCO, as it looks to reduce its debt pile while retaining majority ownership of its financial arm. The deal is expected to generate $1.25 billion in cash, according to the company.
Shares of the company rose 1.5% in premarket trading.
(Reporting by Abhinav Parmar, additional reporting by Utkarsh Shetti in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair and Shailesh Kuber)
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