Departing after 15 years of distinguished service
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE:PII) today announced that Michael (Mike)
Jonikas, Vice President of Snowmobiles and Slingshot, will be retiring
in May of this year.
Polaris Industries Inc. announced today that Michael (Mike) Jonikas, Vice President of Snowmobiles and Slingshot, will be retiring in May of this year. (Photo: Business Wire)
Over the past fifteen years, Mike Jonikas has been a key leader for
Polaris and the powersports industry, and has made significant
contributions to both. Jonikas began his Polaris career in 2000 as a
Marketing Director in the Off-Road Vehicles (ORV) division, then went on
to become the first General Manager of Side-by-Side (SxS) vehicles, Vice
President of Sales & Corporate Marketing and On Road, and finally VP of
Snowmobile and Slingshot. Under his guidance, Polaris’ snowmobile
business has reached new heights in performance - both from the vehicles
themselves and from a sales perspective - while his work with Slingshot
resulted in one of the most successful product launches in Polaris
history.
“Mike has been a passionate, dedicated and highly skilled business
leader for Polaris over the past 15 years. During that period, he led
and grew each of our vehicle businesses and transformed our sales and
corporate marketing team, contributing significantly to our success,”
said Scott Wine, Polaris Chairman & CEO. “Quite simply, Mike worked
tirelessly to make Polaris a bigger, better and stronger company, and
our gratitude and best wishes go out to Mike as he embarks on his new,
more relaxing, adventures.”
“I have been privileged to work with Mike for the past 15 years,” said
Bennett Morgan, Polaris President and COO. “It is a fact that Mike’s
efforts played a significant part in making Polaris the company it is
today. We owe him a debt of gratitude, not only for his contributions to
our business but also for the passion and pride he brought to every
leadership challenge we set before him, no matter how daunting.”
“I have worked with so many great people during my time at Polaris, and
it is their passion and commitment that I will miss the most,” remarked
Jonikas. “Though I was present as Polaris broke through the $2, $3 and
$4 billion revenue barriers, launched any number of groundbreaking
products, and became a truly global business, it is the day-to-day
interaction with the best team in Powersports that always inspired me.
As I leave, I am confident that the company is in great hands, and I
look forward to seeing what they will accomplish.”
Wine continued, “It is never easy to replace someone of Mike’s caliber,
but we have a deep reservoir of strong leaders ready to tackle such
challenges, many of whom Mike trained himself. We have developed a
thorough succession plan for his role, and details will be forthcoming.”
About Polaris®
Polaris is a recognized leader in the powersports industry with annual
2014 sales of $4.48 billion. Polaris designs, engineers, manufactures
and markets innovative, high quality off-road vehicles, including
all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and the Polaris RANGER® and RZR®
side-by-side vehicles, snowmobiles, motorcycles and on-road
electric/hybrid powered vehicles.
Polaris is among the global sales leaders for both snowmobiles and
off-road vehicles and has established a presence in the heavyweight
cruiser and touring motorcycle market with the Victory and Indian
Motorcycle brands. Additionally, Polaris continues to invest in the
global on-road small electric/hybrid powered vehicle industry with
Global Electric Motorcars (GEM), Goupil Industrie SA, Aixam Mega S.A.S.,
and internally developed vehicles. Polaris enhances the riding
experience with a complete line of Polaris Engineered Parts, Accessories
and Apparel, Klim branded apparel and ORV accessories under the Kolpin
and Cycle Country brands.
Polaris Industries Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the
symbol “PII”, and the Company is included in the S&P Mid-Cap 400 stock
price index.
Information about the complete line of Polaris products, apparel and
vehicle accessories are available from authorized Polaris dealers or
anytime at www.polaris.com.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20150323006063/en/
Source: Polaris Industries Inc.