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Tuesday 12 March 2024

Polaris

Polaris Announces "Realignment to Deepen Connection with Strategy and Global Business Unit Structure"


Polaris Executive Vice President (EVP) of Global Operations and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Ken Pucel has announced his intention to retire in April - "following a notable nine-year career with Polaris."

Pucel joined Polaris in 2014 as EVP of Operations, Engineering and Lean, and was named CTO in 2022. During his tenure, he was responsible for the global growth and expansion of the company's operations. Pucel oversaw the company's efforts to enhance its Lean capabilities, refine its supplier and logistics operations, and invest in its safety, quality and operational processes.

Ken Pucel


Polaris is taking this opportunity to realign some of its senior executive roles, "elevating and expanding the roles of the following leaders to continue delivering on its long-term strategy, to drive profitable growth, and to more closely align operations and engineering teams into its Global Business Units.

Vice President of Off Road Engineering Tony Kinsman has been appointed CTO, in addition to his current responsibilities. In this expanded role, Kinsman will oversee the continued advancement of Polaris' central engineering capabilities and technology development, while driving increased integration between engineering teams. 

He will dual-report to CEO Mike Speetzen and Steve Menneto, President of Off Road. A 20-year veteran with the company, Kinsman has a keen understanding of Polaris, along with extensive technical and leadership expertise, having spent his career in various Off Road and Central Engineering roles focused on vehicle design, development and technology integration.

To reinforce the company's commitment to Agile & Efficient Operations, the Sourcing and Logistics teams will move under Marc Suarez, Vice President of Polaris Off Road Operations. 

Given the complex and dynamic nature of the procurement and logistics environments, Suarez will be responsible for driving deeper alignment between Polaris' business teams and its strategic sourcing and logistics plans. He will continue to report to Menneto. 

To support critical centralized needs and continue its commitment to Lean and quality across the enterprise, Polaris is naming Doug Adrian as Vice President of Quality & Operational Excellence - reporting to Speetzen. 

He will lead critical centralized areas of focus, including quality, central manufacturing, employee health and safety, Lean and indirect sourcing.