Jeffrey L. Bleustein is an American business executive, and the former

Chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression along with i ...

. He is credited with helping save the company from possible bankruptcy in the 1980s, and leading the company's resurgence as the dominant motorcycle manufacturer in the United States.

Early life and education

Bleustein is a native of

Scarsdale, New York Scarsdale is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The Town of Scarsdale is coterminous municipality, coextensive with the Village of Scarsdale, but the community has opted to operate ...

, and comes from a family with a background in manufacturing. His grandfather, an immigrant from Poland, ran a company called Atlas Baby Carriage in the Bronx, along with his father and two of his uncles. After graduating from A.B. Davis High School, he earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, and a master's degree and PhD in engineering mechanics from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. He spent a year as a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

postdoctoral fellow in England.

Early career

From 1966 to 1971, Bleustein was an associate professor of engineering and applied sciences at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. His work on

piezoelectricity Piezoelectricity (, ) is the electric charge that accumulates in certain solid materials—such as crystals, certain ceramics, and biological matter such as bone, DNA, and various proteins—in response to applied mechanical stress. The piezoel ...

along with related work by Yuri Vasilyevich Gulyayev on a new type of transverse surface acoustic wave led to that wave being called the Bleustein-Gulyaev wave. In 1971, he decided to enter the corporate world and took a job as a technology consultant with

American Machine and Foundry American Machine and Foundry (known after 1970 as AMF, Inc.) was one of the United States' largest recreational equipment companies, with diversified products as disparate as garden equipment, atomic reactors, and yachts. History The company wa ...

, commonly known as AMF, a sporting goods manufacturer. He was considered the "golden boy" of AMF's engineering team. AMF had purchased the Harley-Davidson motorcycle company in 1969. In 1975, AMF assigned Bleustein to help reorganize Harley-Davidson's engineering operations, which he described as "an overgrown blacksmith shop" at that time. He began commuting from New York to Milwaukee one day a week to manage the process.

Career at Harley-Davidson

Bleustein became a Harley-Davidson employee in 1975, initially as vice president of engineering. AMF's ownership of Harley-Davidson was problematic, and by some accounts, the company was close to bankruptcy in the early 1980s. Along with 12 others Harley-Davidson executives, Bleustein helped lead an $81.5 million leveraged buyout of the company in 1981. He was promoted to senior vice president in 1988, executive vice president in 1990, president and

Chief operating officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...

in 1993 and chief executive officer in 1997. He became chairman of the board in 1998. In 2010, the

Harvard Business Review ''Harvard Business Review'' (''HBR'') is a general management magazine published by Harvard Business Publishing, a not-for-profit, independent corporation that is an affiliate of Harvard Business School. ''HBR'' is published six times a year ...

called Bleustein one of "The 100 Best-Performing CEOs in the World, mentioning the $13 billion increase in the company's

market capitalization Market capitalization, sometimes referred to as market cap, is the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares owned by stockholders. Market capitalization is equal to the market price per common share multiplied by ...

during his tenure as CEO. He stepped down as CEO in April, 2005 and was replaced by James L. Ziemer. As CEO, Bleustein was known for holding large numbers of face-to-face meetings with stakeholders, including customers, employees, stockholders and suppliers. He was an advocate of the "free flow of ideas" He is credited with strengthening the dealer network and for Harley-Davidson's expansion to China, including opening dealerships in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

and

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. After accepting his first job at Harley-Davidson, Bleustein soon became an "avid biker" Early in his time with the company, he was embarrassed to discover that his new Harley-Davidson Sportster was leaking oil, and this motivated him to redesign the engine to eliminate the oil leak problem. He was responsible for other engineering innovations, including rubber engine mounts to reduce vibration, redesign of the iconic Harley-Davidson

V-twin engine A V-twin engine, also called a V2 engine, is a two-cylinder piston engine where the cylinders are arranged in a V configuration and share a common crankshaft. The V-twin is widely associated with motorcycles, primarily installed longitudinally ...

, and introduction of

Kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s as ...

drive belts. He was an active participant in the

Harley Owners Group The Harley Owners Group (HOG) is a sponsored community marketing club, operated by Harley-Davidson for enthusiasts of that brand's motorcycles. The HOG is "the grandaddy of all community-building efforts," serving to promote not just a consume ...

, attending six or more events each year.

Corporate boards and community service

Bleustein is a member of the board of directors of the

Brunswick Corporation Brunswick Corporation, formerly known as the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, is an American corporation that has been developing, manufacturing and marketing a wide variety of products since 1845. Brunswick has more than 13,000 employees in ...

and the

Kohler Company Kohler Co., is an American manufacturing company founded in 1873 by John Michael Kohler, based in Kohler, Wisconsin. Kohler is best known for its plumbing products, but the company also manufactures furniture, cabinetry, tile, engines, and El ...

. He serves on the boards of the

Medical College of Wisconsin The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) is a private medical school, pharmacy school, and graduate school of sciences in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. The school was established in 1893 and is the largest research center in eastern Wisconsi ...

and the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, and is a member of Milwaukee's Congregation Shalom.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bleustein, Jeffrey Living people Businesspeople from Scarsdale, New York Businesspeople from Milwaukee Harley-Davidson executives American chief executives of manufacturing companies Cornell University College of Engineering alumni Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni Yale University faculty Medical College of Wisconsin Year of birth missing (living people) American chief operating officers American chief executives in the automobile industry