Jochen Zeitz

 ( 1963 Births ) 

In 2008, Zeitz introduced PUMAVision, an ethical framework defined by the four key principles of being fair, honest, positive and creative as applied to all professional behaviour, business procedures and relationships throughout and outside of Puma. There, he also conceived of the concept of an Environmental Profit & Loss Account (EP&L Account). In May 2011, he announced Puma's EP&L Account, which assigned a monetary value to its businesses use of ecosystem services across its entire supply chain.

From 2010 to 2012, Zeitz was CEO of Puma's Sport & Lifestyle division, which included Puma and Volcom, was its Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), and then served as chairman of the board's sustainable development committee, and a director of Kering.

In 2014, Zeitz co-founded The B Team with Sir Richard Branson.

Zeitz is also a board member of Cranemere, and served on the board of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) for three years from 2019 to 2022.

In July 2020, Zeitz announced "The Rewire" which led to a new five-year strategic plan called "The Hardwire". The Rewire strategy included prioritizing markets that matter and enhancing core strengths of the company, while balancing expansion into new spaces. The Hardwire strategy included a new pre-owned motorcycle program; investment in the parts, accessories, riding gear and financial services segments of the business; and a new division focused exclusively on electric motorcycles. In a subsequent financial filing, Harley-Davidson Inc. reported better-than-expected results, "in a sign that its turnaround plan was taking hold".

In February 2021, inspired by KKR & Co Inc executive Pete Stavros, Zeitz announced the motorcycle maker would give stock grants to employees, including hourly and factory workers, to align with executives and shareholders.

In December 2021, Zeitz announced that LiveWire, the electric-motorcycle division of Harley-Davidson, would become a separate publicly traded company to "operate with the same agility and speed as a startup"; the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on 27 September 2022. On the day of listing, Zeitz was the first CEO to ring both the opening and closing bell of trading on the NYSE, also being the first to run two public-listed companies.

Serving as Livewire's first chairman and CEO since going public, he handed over leadership on 12 June 2023 to his successor Karim Donnez, while remaining as chairman of the company. In 2019, under Zeitz's leadership, Harley-Davidson introduced its first electric model, the LiveWire.

In 2023, The Hardwire was in its third year of implementation; since its launch, the company had not missed quarterly earnings. Analysts noted improvements in Harley-Davidson's performance during the initial years of Zeitz's turnaround plan.

In 2024, louder criticism and sometimes boycott requests were heard from dealers, customers and fans about the DEI (Diversity Equity Inclusion) orientation that Zeitz favoured for the brand.

In April 2025, Zeitz's retirement as CEO was announced by Harley-Davidson.

Founded by Jochen Zeitz and the ZEITZ foundation in 2009, The Long Run is a membership organisation of nature-based tourism businesses that are committed to driving sustainability through a holistic 4C philosophy. Safeguarding over 21 million acres of nature in 22 different countries, touching the lives of over 750,000 people and protecting over 30,000 plant and animal species, The Long Run is a global membership organization focused on sustainable tourism practices. Zeitz is also vice-president of Fauna and Flora International.

In partnership with the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, Zeitz founded the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA), located in the historic grain silo in Cape Town's Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. The museum features 9,500 square meters (102,000 square feet) of space over nine floors, including 6,000 square meters (65,000 square feet) for displays.

In 2014, Thomas Heatherwick was chosen to design the conversion of the 1920s granary into a museum, including 80 galleries, 18 education rooms, a rooftop sculpture garden as well as storage and conservation areas, a restaurant, a coffee shop, and bookstores. The official public opening of the museum took place in September 2017. The opening ceremony was presided over by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. In the first year of opening the Zeitz MOCAA was visited by over 300,000 people and named one of the best museums in the world by the Time Magazine.

In 2014 Zeitz co-wrote and published The Breakthrough Challenge: 10 Ways to Connect Today's Profits with Tomorrow's Bottom Line with John Elkington.