Scott Wine, chairman and chief executive of Polaris Inc., will leave the company at the end of the year to become the new CEO of CNH Industrial N.V., the maker of Case and New Holland agricultural equipment.
"For the last 12 years, I have had the extraordinary honor of leading the best team in powersports, and it is incredibly rewarding to reflect on all that we have accomplished together," Wine said in a statement Tuesday.
Polaris said it would immediately begin to look for a successor. The Medina-based company, with about $7 billion in annual revenue, is one of the nation's largest makers of all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles and motorcycles.
CNH Industrial, based in London, produces agricultural and construction equipment and has annual revenue of about $28 billion. Wine will arrive amid a strategic transformation at the firm. CNH divided its "on-highway" and "off-highway" business segments and plans to spin off the on-highway unit, which chiefly makes buses and minibuses.
Polaris' lead independent director, John Wiehoff, the former CEO of Eden Prairie-based C.H. Robinson Worldwide, called Wine "an exceptional leader."
"During his tenure, Polaris grew from a strong Minnesota company into a global leader in the powersports market — more than tripling sales and vaulting Polaris into the Fortune 500," Wiehoff said in the company's statement.
Wine, 53 and a former U.S. Navy officer, joined Polaris as CEO in 2008, when it had $1.9 billion in sales. Before that, Wine held executive roles at United Technologies Corp., Danaher Corp. and Allied Signal Corp., which became Honeywell International Inc.
Polaris' sales took a dip in the first half of the year due to COVID-19 shutdowns, but then grew through the summer as consumers spent more on outdoor products.
In the announcement of Wine's departure, Polaris reaffirmed financial guidance for 2020 and said sales were on track to increase 2 to 3%. Adjusted net income for 2020 is expected to be in the range of $7.15 to $7.30 share, up from $6.32 a share in 2019, the company said.
Under Wine, Polaris re-entered the marine market when it acquired Boat Holdings LLC, a maker of Bennington and Godfrey pontoon boats and Hurricane deck boats, for approximately $825 million in 2018. The company also grew its motorcycle business significantly, acquired some small electric-vehicle companies and launched the three-wheeled Slingshot.
Polaris also grappled with a number of product recalls and lawsuits, some over claims of ATVs that suddenly caught fire.
The announcement was made after the market closed. For the day, shares of Polaris closed up 0.6%. But in after-hours trading, Polaris shares were down 4.4%.
Adjusted for splits and dividends, Polaris shares are trading about nine times higher today than in 2008. They reached an all-time high in 2014 at levels that are about 40% higher than today.
"I am most proud of the team and the culture that have made working here so gratifying, and having witnessed firsthand the ingenuity, passion and drive that permeates the company, I leave with complete confidence that Polaris' future is bright," Wine said.
CNH Chairwoman Suzanne Haywood, who has been the company's acting CEO since March, said, "The Board is delighted at the appointment of Scott Wine, given his broad industrial experience and strategic expertise."
Patrick Kennedy • 612-673-7926
