Harley-Davidson hires its first female CFO, an ex-Tyson Foods executive

Harley-Davidson Inc. has hired its first female chief financial officer, a former executive from Tyson Foods.

The Milwaukee-based motorcycle maker said in a news release that Gina Goetter would become its CFO Sept. 30.

Goetter will help lead a company that has been dealt a tough blow during the coronavirus pandemic and associated economic downturn. Harley reported a loss of $92 million in the three-month period that ended June 30. Its U.S. retail motorcycle sales fell 27% in the quarter – the steepest decline in at least six years.

Goetter was most recently senior vice president and CFO of Tyson Foods' prepared foods segment. Before Tyson Foods, Goetter worked at General Mills Inc.

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“Gina is a CFO with the experience to drive a transformation of core processes and reporting for improved operational efficiency,” said Jochen Zeitz, chairman, president and CEO of Harley-Davidson, in a statement. “We have a diverse management team structured in a new way that is designed to fuel Harley-Davidson’s brand desirability and lead Harley-Davidson as a high-performing organization.”

Harley-Davidson announced in July that Chief Financial Officer John Olin had left the company. Olin had been with the company for 17 years.

At the same time this summer, Harley-Davidson said it would eliminate 700 jobs this year as part of a comprehensive effort to rebuild the company.

The company also replaced CEO Matt Levatich with Zeitz this year. Levatich had been with the company for 26 years.

"A total rewire is necessary to make Harley-Davidson a high-performance company," Zeitz said during a conference call with analysts after the company's most recent earnings report.

"The company has seen five consecutive restructurings in order to sort of chase the downward trend in sales. That has affected morale and engagement by our team members around the world, which is totally understandable."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Harley-Davidson hires first female CFO