It’s not every day that an industry icon like Forest River Inc. founder and CEO Pete Liegl announces some of his succession plans, as he did on Wednesday, August 20 (see “Forest River Inc. Announces Management Updates”), when he handed over day-to-day management of the publicly traded company to three notable members of the executive team.
Yet that is exactly what happened when the media learned of strategic changes designed to “continue Forest River’s forward momentum and commitment to customer satisfaction” in its key markets, including recreational vehicles, cargo trailers, pontoon boats, buses, vans and commercial vehicles for the public and private sectors.
“It is with great pleasure and honor that I write this succession plan letter,” Liegl said, informing the company’s more than 14,000 employees of his future plans for the 28-year-old Elkhart, Indiana-based subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. “While I have no intention of stepping down as CEO, I believe it is important to envision the future and plan for a smooth transition to continue the legacy of Forest River Inc.”
The three people who will take on expanded responsibilities:
- CFO Darrel Ritchie: Corporate Leadership
- Veteran David Wright: Commercial Vehicles
- RV Group GM Doug Gaeddert: all RVs
In view of the potential impact of all this, Liegl agreed to take some Motorhome business questions by phone yesterday about this headline-grabbing turn of events. Here is part of what Liegl, a former executive at Coachmen Industries Inc., had to say:
RVBusiness: We, like others in the industry, were admittedly surprised to hear the news, Pete, and found it remarkable that you are sticking to your position at this time.
Liegl: It’s about giving new responsibility to the different people we’ve hired today. They’ll all be taking on more responsibility and I’ll stay on as CEO.
RVB: Okay, so maybe the best way to describe this whole transition at this point is that you’re redistributing some of your senior corporate responsibilities?
Liegl: Exactly.
RVB: And when exactly should that happen?
Liegl: Immediately.
RVB: So, Pete, why this and why now?
Liegl: Because they’re younger guys. They have more fire in their bellies than I do, and it makes sense to do it because they’re very capable individuals. Take Gaeddert, for example: he’ll have all of Forest River’s RVs, the motorized ones and the trailers. And take David Wright, he’ll have the commercial and do it better than I do.
And then Darrel Ritchie, our CFO, who is moving to corporate management, will focus on using the money from Forest River to look at possible new plans for financing dealer inventory, rent, etc.
And we have people like David Wright and Doug Gaeddert in particular who are very competent. They can do more than what they have done in the past. And we are consolidating some of our overall operations, like in Gaeddert’s area where he will be responsible not only for the tow vehicles but also for the motorized vehicles.
RVB: And that’s a glimpse into the future, isn’t it?
Liegl: Yes, definitely. I think I did quite well, but I lack the drive and energy of these guys.
RVB: Those of us who have followed Forest River for years are asked: Is there anything else you would like to add to the overall picture of the company and its future prospects?
Liegl: We’ll just do more of what we’ve been doing, but hopefully better.
And when we look at the finances, it’s a fact that we have the money. So I ask, “Why don’t we finance the dealers ourselves?” Darrel Richie is currently considering doing just that. Do we offer short-term and long-term financing for wholesale and retail?
That’s his job. We’ve got the funds in the bank, we’ve got the money, so why wouldn’t we do it? And that will give us a huge boost. And then under Gaeddert you consolidate both the trailers and the motorized vehicles. I think that will be a big plus. And David Wright will oversee the commercial growth, and we’re getting a hell of a lot more of that, including buses and everything else under that roof.
All three of them want to start, so, great. They’re going to do it better than I could have ever imagined.
RVB: You’ve made some pretty bold statements recently, as has Doug Gaeddert, about the strength of Forest River’s RV market. Is that still the case?
Liegl: Yes, that’s true. We’ve done very well and expect that to continue to be the case in the future.
We make good money every month and it looks like it will stay that way in the future. And when I imagine that I have the opportunity to combine the trailers and the motorized vehicles under Gaeddert, that makes sense to me. And if we combine all our commercial work, that makes sense to me too.
And we are only at the beginning. We are just entering the next phase. I am convinced that we will do even better in the future.
