Welcome, I'm Greg Heichelbech; A Focused, Innovative, Driven, Highly Personable CEO.

Greg Heichelbech's Bio:

Greg Heichelbech 2014 Executive of the Year  Greg has been a leader for both Fortune 500 companies such as Harley-Davidson Inc. and privately-held entrepreneurial start-ups. He brings 25 years of P&L experience, strategic focus, vision and maturity in judgement gained during a successful career leveraging his diverse business expertise with a variety of market leading B2B and B2C companies.     Greg has used his experience with production and process tools such as The Toyota Way, Kaizen, Lean and Six Sigma in combination with his business acumen, sales leadership, personality, motivation and skill to develop and execute transformative growth strategies that have driven businesses to their peak potential.   As an experienced senior leader, Greg is an extremely well rounded executive. The cornerstone of his success has been his motivation to continuously learn, his open and transparent leadership style and his ability to achieve mission critical targets. Greg has taken on critical leadership roles applying his hands-on-approach in successfully leading turn-around situations, Tier-1development projects in the automotive industry, the design of high capacity production facilities, management of engineering project teams, and the execution of Lean initiatives and strategies to achieve stretch targets. His collegial management style, and knowledge, allow him to effectively communicate across all spectrums; from the production floor, to private equity investors, to the boardroom.    Greg’s experience, reputation for performance, and integrity led to his recruitment in the summer of 2010 by Triumph Motorcycles LTD. for the position of Chief Executive Officer for the North American market. An iconic brand that had fallen on difficult times, Triumph was looking to re-establish its foothold in North America. Since 1995, the company had struggled to gain traction in the heart and mind of the U.S./Canadian consumers and dealers and had lost over $15 million throughout the previous 5 years.   As the first appointed American CEO of Triumph North America, Greg designed and executed a new strategic plan that significantly accelerated business growth. Using a combination of specialized tools to identify and address service issues and waste, Greg started by instilling the Kaizen philosophy in the management and staff. Engaging the organization early and often through team-based creation of value stream and process mapping, Greg’s plan was built on foundational business principles and processes that transformed the business in less than 18 months.   Outpacing the industry, Greg and his team flawlessly executed his plan delivering 38 months of sales growth, doubling the annual volume of new motorcycle sales, increasing revenues 150%, increasing profitability by 200% and growing retail sales by 53%.   In 2014, the motorcycle industry bestowed Greg the honor of Executive of the Year for his work in transforming the iconic Triumph brand. The Wharton School of Business invited Greg to speak at Knowledge@Wharton’s Retail and Consumer Goods Executive Summit: High Velocity Growth. Greg shared his Triumph revival strategy with CEO’s from Fortune 500 companies to Start-ups.   Greg earned his MBA from Loyola University Chicago, his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin. He has received a number of certificates in Executive Leadership, Strategy Development, Sales Management, Finance, Product Development and Pre-Production Processes and Manufacturing.      You can reach Greg at [email protected] ]]> , by phone (262) 366-1754 or visit his LinkedIn page www.linkedin.com/pub/greg-heichelbech/20/710/597/

Greg Heichelbech's Experience:

  • CEO President at Seeking Next Opportunity

    Experienced, well rounded leader with 25 years of P&L experience, strategic focus, vision and maturity in judgement. Versed in process tools such as The Toyota Way, Kaizen, Lean and Six Sigma in development of growth strategies. Strong business acumen, sales leadership, personality, motivation and skill in developing and executing transformative growth strategies. Motivated to continuously learning, an open and transparent leadership style with a track record of achieving mission critical targets. Applies a hands-on-approach with a collegial management style, to effectively communicate across all spectrums; from the production floor, to private equity investors, to the boardroom.

  • CEO at Triumph Motorcycles

    International leader defining the vision, develop and execution of new strategies in North America, to transform the P&L that lost considerable market share and profits. Reengineered and transformed market positioning, commercialization, operating processes, and instilled urgency for financial discipline and growth. Installed collaborative leadership and strategic analytics to motivate change and quickly implement sustainable growth strategies, operational tactics in sales, customer service, product development, supply chain and distribution, marketing and branding. Inspiring 80+ team members doubling revenue to $180 million.

  • Director Dealer/Business Development and Retail Stores, Harley-Davidson Motor Company at Director - Harley-Davidson Motor Company

    Driving US and Canadian revenue growth, market, customer and retail environment development, dealer standards, policies and contracts for a network of 800 independent dealers. Collaborated closely with divisional leaders Internationally and in North America to evolve, stay aligned and grow this $3+ billion division. Designed and implemented phase one of a multi-year dealer network reorganization plan to preserve the brand integrity and reduce sales capacity. Resulted in 100 dealership closures and the restructuring of several metropolitan markets.

  • Director Sales, Marketing, Product Development Buell American Motorcycles at Harley-Davidson Motor Company

    Reporting to the President of this $127 million division with P&L/budget responsibility for sales, marketing, product development, and after-sales through a support staff of 3 and a matrix organization of 40+ staff within Harley-Davidson, Inc.. Developed and completed a consumer driven product portfolio and sales plan to re-launch the brand/business in the global market.

  • Director of Product Development & Platform Marketing, Buell American Motorcycles at Harley-Davidson Motor Company

    Leadership position working directly with the Founder and President in developing the companies strategic plan, product development lifecycle planning of motorcycles and related general merchandise and accessory lines. Collaborating with marketing and engineering management to delivery ongoing product improvements, Quality, Cost and Timing (QCT) targets and all marketing launch efforts across customer segments.

  • Director of Field Sales & Operations, Harley-Davidson Motor Company at Harley-Davidson Motor Company

    Senior field leader of sales, marketing, channel development and distribution for the midwest region of the United States. Leading a staff of 10 field personnel and managing 30 indirect reports in the sales matrix organization growing sales to $700 million through 150 independent dealers. Management and execution of all communication and activity to the network pertaining to product sales, after-sales, customer service, training, events and shows, and contractual obligations of the network. Implementation of distribution plan to develop and manage 150+ retail locations to double-digit yearly motorcycle growth. Resulting in a 30% increase in revenue of motorcycles, parts and accessories and general merchandise.

  • General Sales Manager at Buell Motorcycle Company

    North American field sales leader directing marketing, channel development and distribution for the 300 independent Buell dealers and the Harley-Davidson sales and sales support organizations in support of the Buell business. Leading a staff of 8 field personnel and managing 5 indirect reports in the sales matrix organization growing sales from $20 million to $55 million. Management and execution of all communication and activity to the network pertaining to product sales, after-sales, customer service, training, events and shows, and contractual obligations of the network.

  • Comercial Director Of Sales & Operations at APW Inc, PowerPacker

    Senior executive of sales, marketing, product development, customer service and channel development for North America. Leading a staff of 9 direct reports; 2 Sales Directors, Sales Manager, 3 Application Engineers, Director of Project Management and 2 customer service support staff. Developed sales and relations as a Tier-1 supplier to the automotive, medical, recreational vehicle industries for engineered hydraulic components and systems used in various lift and suspension systems.

  • National Account Manager at Generac Power Systems

    National sales and account management as a Tier-1 supplier to Sears and Grainger for private label; and Generac branded generators and power washers for the consumer and industrial segments. Category P&L management, product development, pricing, packaging, store display, distribution planning, safety and owners manual production for private labeled products manufactured under the Craftsman and Dayton brand names.

Greg Heichelbech's Education:

  • Loyola University Chicago

    Masters of Business Administration (Executive MBA)
  • University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

    Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)
    Concentration: Marketing, Financial Management and Analysis, Business Accounting
  • Milwaukee Area Technical College

    Associate's degree
    Concentration: Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician

Greg Heichelbech's Interests & Activities:

Motorcycling, Classic Cars, Water sports, Cycling, Basketball, Football