Clyde Fessler, retired Vice President of Business Development for Harley-Davidson Motor Company, was with the company for 24 years, and has played an integral part in their dramatic turnaround.
Fessler joined Harley-Davidson in 1977 as the Advertising and Promotions Manager, and soon was promoted to Director of Marketing Services. In that position he led the establishment of Harley Owners Group, which now has over 500,000 members and is the largest enthusiast club in the world.
As General Sales Manager in the early 1980s, he established new policies and programs, many of which are still in effect today.
As Director of Licensing, Clyde created a new business that has received national recognition enhancing the brand to the general public as well as adding substantial financial value to Harley-Davidson.
As Vice President of General Merchandise, he repositioned the rider accessory department and led the MotorClothes team from $20 million in annual sales to over $100 million in a period of five years.
In the role as Vice President of Business Development, Clyde played a key role in developing strategic direction for the company.
Clyde is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame. He served on the Board of Trustees for the American Motorcycle Association and the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. He also served as an active liaison between the Muscular Dystrophy Association and Harley-Davidson... a relationship that has generated over $60 million in donations since 1981.
Clyde retired from Harley-Davidson in early 2002 and is now active as a consultant and motivational speaker. He enjoys fulfilling his dreams by exploring the world on one of his six Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
His presentation addresses re-inventing the business with specifics on:
* Building a brand
* Customer bonding
* Satisfying customer expectations
* Changing the image of the company
* The business process
* Creating the vision
* Creating the mission
* Defining goals/objectives
* Define strategies
* Staying on track
* Creating the "passion" at the corporate management level as well as the employee level
* Changing the culture of the organization through a business process
As a proven, experienced, successful marketing strategist, Clyde will motivate your audience and help direct them to a renewed, heightened level of achievement to reach your goals with pride through a focused business plan including team playing.
Testimonials
Clyde hit the long ball home run for us. We have had several requests for the speaker info regarding Clyde. Clyde and his wife's attendance at the receptions Friday night was also viewed as a great added value and to their credit was noticed by our attendees (the important folks) not just the management. The most often repeated line from the attendees "this was the best Saturday in our history." A large part of that is directly related to Clyde.
- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
Thank you for serving as the keynote speaker at the SAS Executive Conference "Leveraging Business Analytics to Optimize Your Manufacturing Enterprise," Your insightful comments established the foundation upon which the remainder of the conference was built. We look forward to working with you again.
- SAS Americas Marketing and Support
Our meeting was a success and Clyde Fessler was one of the main reasons for that success. WMS couldn't have selected a more appropriate speaker for our meeting. His message of the Harley Davidson re-emergence rang home with our audience. Clyde grabbed everyone's attention as he provided examples of the challenges they faced, the actions implemented and the results of their efforts. He did a fantastic job of engaging our management team. In short, with Clyde's presentation we achieved our goals for the meeting!
- Vice President Human Resources, WMS Gaming
Clyde's experience with Harley Davidson during their struggles and eventual comeback gave us much to ponder. All of our attendees continue to express how much they enjoyed Clyde's presentation. His arrival on the Harley was spectacular and added to the excitement we hoped to generate from our General Session.
- President & CEO, Precision Auto Care
Thank you so much for being a part of our Century 21 Leadership Conference in Phoenix and Boca Raton. Your message on the history of Harley Davidson and the 4 Ps of marketing, with the 5th P being the most important... people, was FANTASTIC! Thank you for making our meeting a special one by sharing your passion for brand and giving back to the people.
- Century 21
I just wanted to say thank you for an excellent seminar and keynote address out in Portland. Your credibility and experience added greatly to our meeting. From the time you rolled out on the Harley, the guys knew you were serious about sales and marketing. Also, thanks again for attending the dinners with our group. It wasn't necessary at all, but they were excited to talk motorcycles and business with you over some nice meals. I look forward to working with you again down the road, and feel free to pass along my reference to anybody who needs one.
- Level 6 Marketing, LLC, Client: Western Star Trucking
