Ex-Harley COO gets Briggs & Stratton post

Briggs & Stratton announced that Michelle Kumbier has joined the company as senior vice president & president of its Turf & Consumer Products business, which consists of the Ferris, Snapper, Simplicity, Billy Goat, Victa and Branco brands of commercial and residential outdoor power equipment.

Michelle Kumbier

Kumbier joins Briggs & Stratton after more than 22 years at Harley-Davidson Motor Co., where she most recently served as chief operating officer. Prior to Harley-Davidson, she spent 11 years at Kohler Co. and currently serves on the board of directors for Tenneco, Teledyne Technologies and Abbott Laboratories.

In addition to Kumbier, Briggs & Stratton named Chuck Marckwardt to vice president Operations for its Turf & Consumer Products business. He previously was vice president of Operations & Supply Chain with Brasscraft Manufacturing Co., a subsidiary of Masco.

Kumbier succeeds Harold Redman who served as senior vice president and president of Turf & Consumer Products and Marckwardt succeeds Don Klenk, who served as the vice president Operations. The company said it is thankful for Redman and Klenk’s contributions and leadership throughout the years.

“Briggs & Stratton is quickly transforming its business and requires fresh perspectives and different experiences to drive change and success,” said Steve Andrews, president & CEO at Briggs & Stratton. “Michelle’s leadership and expertise in operations, supply chain and product development will be integral in continuous improvement efforts and positioning Briggs & Stratton as a best-in-class provider of innovative power products and solutions.”

These are latest management moves since KPS Capital Partners acquired Briggs & Stratton in September of 2020 and named Andrews president and CEO. Since that time, the company has named David Dooley vice president and general manager of the Allmand business; Chris Mapes, senior vice president of Supply Chain; and Brian Hazelton, senior vice president & president of the Power business.