Matt Miller retiring as CEO of Newmar

[sheridany]

News flash this morning that Matt Miller is stepping down as CEO of Newmar. He will be replaced by Brian Hazelton who is a SVP of the Winnebago RV division.

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[Neemer]

Let the assimilation begin. Muaaaahaaaahaaaa

 

[Jabber Jaw]

This is about to get real interesting!
The question: WHAT DIRECTION WILL NEWMAR TAKE?
There are a lot of possible answers, good & bad!

 

[BobbyJ]

I worked in senior management at a fortune 50 company--"Newmar Man replaced by Winnebago Man due tp Retirement??" Let's just cut to the chase here... he got "whacked."

BJ

 

[Neal]

Since they didn't promote someone from Newmar my prediction is a mass exodus of Newmar execs and a top level implosion.

 

[Neal]

Announcement by Matt Miller​

Newmar Kountry Klub Friends, Many of us go back many years and I feel that I have grown up inside of our Newmar organization. I am privileged to have been a part of this great team and I am honored to have had the opportunity to interact with many of you. In November of 2019, the Miller family completed an agreement to become part of Winnebago Industries and Newmar has continued the growth journey since then. Although serving as President of Newmar Corporation and Sr. Vice President of Winnebago Industries, has been rewarding, I have decided I want more time with my family and to pursue personal interests. As a result of this decision, I submitted my retirement notice to Mike Happe, President and CEO of Winnebago Industries with an effective date of September 3, 2021. I have agreed to continue to serve in a strategic advisory role for a period of time. I am proud of what we have accomplished at Newmar, and I look forward to even greater opportunities for our company as we transition my leadership role to Brian Hazelton. Brian has been a part of Winnebago Industries for five years. He most recently served as the Sr. Vice President of the Winnebago brand RV business. Brian’s experience and familiarity with Winnebago Industries and the RV industry will prove invaluable as we continue to grow the legacy of building high-quality Newmar recreational vehicles for our valued loyal customers. With this, our existing Newmar leadership team, will continue as a fully intact unit. I have truly enjoyed leading Newmar and developing relationships with you, the best customers in the industry. I have a tremendous amount of peace with the decision I made, and I am looking forward to this next chapter in my life with my family. I appreciate your friendship and support over the years and will always consider myself to be part of our Newmar family. I feel privileged to have been able to serve you and look forward to seeing you on the road. With regards, Matt Miller​

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Newmar has just become another RV in a sea of them! I can appreciate Matt Miller’s personal situation, but the die was cast when the Miller family sold to Winnebago. Sadly, the era of family-owned businesses is over.

It is all about money, folks; on both ends. Consumers want to pay the lowest price possible while corporations want to maximize profits. Quality of product, support and customer service has taken a back seat…and, is in danger of being kicked off the bus altogether.

I’m glad our RV experience is drawing to a close as I would not want to buy a new RV of any kind at this point.

TJ

 

[Nereus]

I'm not sure he got "whacked" but think this was probably agreed to in the purchase agreement. Matt was probably there to help during the transition period. That said the other possibility is Matt was resisting Winnebago changes and they mutually agreed it was time for him to retire. For us it means, branding and significant changes commence. Hopefully it will be for the better.

 

[redbaron]

I think this is long overdue, and a good thing. Changes are needed at Newmar.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

I think this is long overdue, and a good thing. Changes are needed at Newmar.

Be careful what you wish for!

TJ

 

[tims5842]

Having been through multiple corporate transitions in my professional career, this absolutely doesn't surprise me. Very common for the current CEO to have some level of hold-over agreement to help with a transition while the new owners dig deeper under the covers than diligence allows before the sale (think anti-trust restrictions against competitive companies and outcome if sale falls through with too much detail provided). Also likely that many of the other senior leaders have some incentive program to stay for a period of time past the CEO. That said, there are many mergers that happen in this industry and others where the acquired company is still run as a fully independent entity while the parent looks for areas of optimization around supply chain and back office without impacting the core of the business. What will happen is anyone's guess at this point, but this is a promo for Brian and the last thing he will want to do is screw up a solid brand in his first CEO opportunity. Maybe his first area of focus will be improving delivery quality!

 

[MapNerd]

For us it means, branding and significant changes commence. Hopefully it will be for the better.

that’s a good one

I think this is long overdue, and a good thing. Changes are needed at Newmar.

 

[MapNerd]

I feel like when something like this happens, the company should be forced to rebrand because we all know then product is about to take a nose dive from the quality tree and hit every branch on the way down. As a result, pre-acquisition Newmar’s should be worth more but they won’t be. We’ll take the hit with the rest of the brand.

 

[whereRVapp]

I hope it doesn’t get worse as I’d like to someday move up into a pusher. That said, I remember folks in the Entegra thread in that other forum talking dire circumstances when Thor Industries acquired Jayco. It doesn’t seem like things have gotten worse even though probably not better either. It’s an odd industry, but at this point I wouldn’t trade the lifestyle.

 

[redbaron]

Frankly -- Matt Miller has failed to impress for a long time. I am going on record as saying this is a good thing!

Name 1 thing that Matt has personally done for the company. Name 1 thing that has improved under his leadership.

How often has Matt come out to the public and talked to us like customers, and told us his vision?

IMHO -- Matt was placed in the job because it was the family business and he was the only one that was interested in the business.