H Partners Slams Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG) Leadership, Urges Shareholders to Withhold Votes From Zeitz and Long-Tenured Directors Over Governance and Value Destruction

H Partners, a 9.1% shareholder of Harley-Davidson, is urging shareholders to vote WITHHOLD on the re-election of CEO and Chairman Jochen Zeitz, Presiding Director Thomas Linebarger, and Director Sara Levinson at the upcoming 2025 Annual Meeting. The letter criticizes the trio for poor performance, citing Harley’s sustained underperformance versus peers, failure to execute the Hardwire strategic plan, and entrenched governance practices. H Partners accuses Zeitz of being an absentee CEO responsible for ~$2 billion in value destruction and argues the board has failed to hold him accountable. The firm also calls out flawed succession planning, excessive CEO pay, a lack of independent oversight, and harmful decisions affecting all stakeholder groups. H Partners seeks board reconstitution, the immediate removal of Zeitz, and the appointment of a new external CEO to restore value and integrity to the company.