Polaris Renews Its Leadership

Polaris today affirmed the appointments of a new CEO and CFO, both of whom had been serving in interim roles since January. The manufacturer of motorcycles, off-road vehicles, and boats named Michael Speetzen as CEO, and Bob Mack as CFO.

CEO Scott Wine left the company in November to helm CNH Industrial NV, an agricultural and construction equipment maker. CNH’s Iveco unit also produces commercial trucks. During Wine’s tenure, as interest in powersports rebounded, the firm revived Indian Motorcycles to compete with Harley-Davidson. The company curtailed Victory motorcycle production. In a widely-debated move, they bought the 4 Wheel Parts chain of truck and off-road parts stores.

John Wiehoff, Board of Directors chairman said in making the announcement, “Mike is a proven and highly respected leader within Polaris and across the powersports industry. His strong vision and deep understanding of the business gives us great confidence in his ability to further build on Polaris’ legacy of innovation and growth.”

“In his six years with the Company, Mike has consistently demonstrated his ability to inspire our team, build strong stakeholder relationships and drive strategic execution. We are excited about the next chapter of success and value creation under Mike’s leadership,” Wiehoff said.

Speetzen said, “Bob is a results-driven leader who was integral in expanding Polaris’ role as an industry leader through strategic mergers and acquisition activity and his leadership of our global adjacent markets and boats operations.”

Polaris’ stock took a dive in November when Wine’s departure was announced, according to Bloomberg. At the time Wine left, the company’s share price was $141.45, down 4.6 percent reportedly due to a pandemic-related shutdown in 2020. Shares quadrupled in value with Wine in charge, and the company’s revenue grew fourfold, according to reports. Polaris Inc.’s shares closed at $142.72 yesterday.

[Images: Polaris]