Karim Donnez has become chief executive of Harley-Davidson’s majority-owned LiveWire Group electric motorcycle spin-off, after Harley supremo Jochen Zeitz resigned following an agreed launch period. However, Zeitz will continue as chairman of LiveWire’s board of directors.
Commenting on his departure, Zeitz said: “Having successfully stood-up LiveWire as a brand and listed the company on the NYSE, I’m excited to pass the baton to Karim. He is an entrepreneurial business leader with a track record of driving transformational growth through both strategy development and implementation. The board and I look forward to Karim realising the potential of LiveWire, as we continue on the company’s journey to lead electrification.”
Donnez joins LiveWire from Canadian powersports major Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP), where he was most recently president of its marine group. He performed various roles since joining the company in 2015, including senior vice president with strategy, business development and transformation responsibilities.
Prior to working for BRP, Donnez held leading positions at Rio Tinto, latterly as general manager of refinery and energy for Rio Tinto Kennecott. His career began at Irish-American professional services company Accenture, based in Dublin, and he holds an MSc in engineering from Arts et Métiers ParisTech and an MBA from HEC Montréal.