Jochen Zeitz: Powering Sustainability for Decades
He was the youngest CEO in German history when he headed Puma at age 30.
After 18 years of leadership that saw its share price soar by 4,000%, Jochen Zeitz moved to the luxury goods company Kering.
Then, in 2020, he became President, CEO and Chairman of Harley-Davidson.
With such a glittering career of leadership at three glamorous global companies, he could be forgiven for focussing solely on profit and loss.
But Jochen is about so much more than that.
While he is an immensely successful leader who drives transformation and profitability, he has another passion – sustainability.
And that does not mean just talking sustainability: he walks it, inside and beyond the boardroom.
Transforming Puma
Jochen, who was born in Mannheim, Germany, studied in Germany, Italy, France and the US, graduating from the European Business School in International Marketing and Finance.
His career started with Colgate-Palmolive in New York and Hamburg before he joined sportswear giant Puma in 1990.
His ascent was meteoric: three years later Jochen was appointed Chairman and CEO.
With Puma in financial difficulties, it was a monumental job. However, he led the company’s global restructuring, drove through a long-term development plan and oversaw the aforementioned 4,000% increase in share value to an all-time high when the majority stake of the company was acquired by Kering in 2007.
Puma was by then one of the world’s top three sporting goods firms – and Jochen’s star was in the ascendent. Kering recognised this and got him on its Board.
A man of vision
Today, no major business can operate without having at least an eye on ESG. That was not the case in 2008, when Jochen put it at the centre of Puma’s work.
He 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.
He also pioneered the concept of an Environmental Profit & Loss Account (EP & L), making it the beating heart of Puma’s work from May 2011.
EP&L puts a monetary value to a business’s use of ecosystem services across the entire supply chain.
He said: “We needed to start looking deeper into our supply chain – to better understand and determine our impact on nature and society and how sustainable we were throughout the supply chain."
Putting the planet first
From 2010 to 2012, Jochen was CEO of the Sport & Lifestyle division, which included Puma and Volcom, and its Chief Sustainability Officer, then a Director of Kering and Chairman of the Board's sustainable development committee.
While he was determinedly driving sustainability professionally, Jochen was looking beyond his own office to disseminate the message to the broader business community.
In 2014, he co-founded The B Team with Sir Richard Branson. The initiative brings together the world's top business leaders to promote socially and environmentally conscious business practices.
He said: “I’m passionate about socially and environmentally conscious global business practices and co-founded The B Team with Sir Richard Branson to bring together the world’s top business leaders to help others find a better way of doing business, prioritising the well-being of people and the planet, alongside making profit.”
The idea of combining planet and profit in a business plan was initially radical. But Jochen’s vision and drive helped to embed it in the thinking of C-suite leaders and the reports of major companies.
A founding father
While building that legacy, Jochen was using his influence beyond boardrooms.
He served on the Board of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) for three years.
In 2008, he founded the not-for-profit Zeitz Foundation for Intercultural Ecosphere Safety to support creative and innovative sustainable projects and solutions that balance conservation, community development, culture and commerce.
It was designed to promote an inclusive approach to conservation that enhances livelihoods and fosters intercultural dialogue while building sustainable businesses.
As the owner of Segera Conservancy, Jochen helps to preserve 50,000 acres of wildlife habitat in Kenya, support its local communities and provide a safe refuge for endangered wildlife.
In 2009, the Zeitz Foundation set up The Long Run – a membership organisation of nature-based tourism businesses that are committed to driving sustainability.
The Long Run has become the largest organisation of its kind worldwide, safeguarding over 21 million acres of nature in 22 countries.
Zeitz is also Vice-President of Fauna and Flora International and a co-founder of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa.
Accelerating growth
Back to the day job, Jochen became interim CEO of Harley-Davidson in February 2020 and took over the job permanently in May 2020.
He said: “As president and CEO of Harley-Davidson, my focus is leading an iconic company as the most desirable motorcycle brand in the world and delivering our mission and vision for riders and enthusiasts.”
In July 2020, he announced The Rewire, which led to a new five-year strategic plan called The Hardwire.
The Rewire included prioritising markets that matter and enhancing core strengths of the company while balancing expansion into new spaces.
The Hardwire includes: a new pre-owned motorcycle programme; investment in the parts, accessories, riding gear and financial services segments of the business; and a new division focused exclusively on electric motorcycles.
In the latest demonstration of the synthesis between planet and profits, Harley-Davidson’s results soon improved.
To read the full story in the magazine click HERE
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