Vaughn Beals
| Vaughn L. Beals, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1928[1] Massachusetts, United States[1] |
| Known for | President, Harley-Davidson |
| Awards | Automotive Hall of Fame distinguished service citation[2] Motorcycle Hall of Fame (2008)[3] |
Vaughn L. Beals, Jr. was Chief Executive Officer of Harley-Davidson between 1981 and 1989, and chairman from 1981 to 1996.[3] He was inducted to the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2008.[3]
Contents
Education and career prior to 1981
Beals earned bachelor's and master's degrees in aeronautical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[1][4] He worked at North American Aviation and Cummins as engineer and executive.[5] He was CEO, chairman, and president of Formac (Washington Iron Works) in Seattle, a company that made large engines and logging equipment.[4][6]
He worked at American Machine and Foundry (AMF), becoming vice-president of the division that operated Harley-Davidson (bought by AMF in 1969).
Harley-Davidson buyout and leadership
In 1981, Beals and 12 other investors, including Willie G. Davidson, initiated a management buyout. Harley was bought from AMF for $65 million.[7][8][9][10]
During his leadership of Harley, he initiated the use of just-in-time delivery and other manufacturing reforms, after seeing these practices in use at the Honda Marysville Motorcycle Plant in Ohio.[11] He also directed creation of Harley Owners Group in 1983, today the world's largest factory-sponsored motorcycle club.[12]
Philanthropy
In 2004, Beals and his wife Eleanore Woods Beals, an alumna, established the Woods-Beals endowed chair at Buffalo State College. It was the institution's first endowed chair.[13][14]
References
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- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Vaughn Beals at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame
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- ↑ Smithsonian magazine, August 2003, pg. 36 – "Wild Thing", Robert F. Howe
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- ↑ Kotha, S. & Dutton, J. Transformation at Harley-Davidson. In Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach by C. Hill & G. Jones, Fourth Edition, Houghton-Mifflin 1997. Also reprinted in Managing Organizations and People: Cases in Management Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management, by Schuler, R. & Buller, P. South-Western Publishers, Spring 1999.
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External links
- AMA Motorycle Hall of Famer Vaughn Beals on YouTube, uploaded by AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame
