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FOCUS PSB Executive of the Year www.PowersportsBusiness.com Powersports Business • May 23, 2016 • 15 right, taking what others have taught him and moving the needle forward at Yamaha. "Dennis McNeal is a true ambassador of our time, not only for Yamaha, but for the entire powersports industry as a whole, and this rec- ognition is long overdue," said Bob Starr, cor- porate communications manager for Yamaha Motor Corporation. "I have considered Dennis as a good friend for over 35 years, including the time in his career when he was a district man- ager, and it was crystal clear even at that time that his leadership qualities were those worthy of greatness. "Amongst other accomplishments, Dennis has led our Motorcycle Operations Group at Yamaha through very challenging times, and I'm sure our dealers and are now most apprecia- tive of that fact. Of his many qualities, perhaps the one that to me makes him so worthy of this recognition is his undeniable outstanding eth- ics, both business and personal, and for that, I sincerely feel there is no one in the industry more deserving of this award." At the MIC, McNeal has led the board through growth in its dealer membership and increased attendance of the Annual Washing- ton, D.C., Fly-In, as well as the 2015 acquisi- tion of the American International Motorcycle Expo (AIMExpo). "Dennis continues to effectively connect with our members while articulating and prioritizing the issues and opportunities that MIC should address. His wisdom and dis- cernment continue to prove invaluable to the MIC membership and ultimately, to our cus- tomers and fellow riders," said MIC president Tim Buche. "I continue to be amazed by Den- nis' commitment to this industry. He moves seamlessly from working with Washington, D.C., congressional leaders to collaborating with industry leaders in the MIC boardroom, to meetings with our MIC Dealer Advisory Council and then rubbing shoulders with consumers at the AIMExpo. Dennis is the consummate leader and a perfect choice for PSB Executive of the Year!" YAMAHA Though McNeal has spent more than a decade in his current position, the past few years have been particularly exciting, as Yamaha has introduced the Bolt, Bolt R-Spec, Bolt C-Spec, SR400, R3, R1M, FZ-07, FZ-09, FJ-09, XSR900, YZ250F, YZ450F, YZ450FX, YZ250FX and YZ250X, as well as made significant updates to models in its sport and off-road lineups. Yamaha has been on the upswing in terms of motorcycle sales, and it has grown U.S. market share in the sport and competition segments, McNeal reported. North American net sales of motorcycles hit 89,000 units in the 2015 calendar year, a 12.7 percent increase over 2014, according to Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., financial data. Motor- cycle net unit sales in North America are up 89.8 percent since the 2011 calendar year. "Business has been strong for us, obviously with the development of so many new models," McNeal said. He credits the recent innovation to the 2010 promotion of Hiroyuki Yanagi to president of Yamaha Motor Company. "Mr. Yanagi, who had worked here at YMUS back in the early '90s, was appointed president of YMC Japan and really pulled together a lot of resources to develop not just new products, but new technologies based on Yamaha's fun- damental design elements and historic char- acteristics, and that produced what you see today, from the Bolt to the R1M to the current YZ lineup. It really reinvigorated our com- pany, not just the U.S. business, but globally," McNeal explained. Product planning teams in the U.S., Canada, Japan, Europe and Australia are now working as a unified team to create new models globally. And product planners who work in one coun- try for a time, may soon transfer to another country as the teams continue to innovate. "You get to see new and developing trends sometimes before they even become evident to you because staffs tend to rotate," McNeal said. With this collaboration, new model launches have become more global, with YMUS sending more staff than ever to EICMA in Italy in November, and worldwide staff com- ing to the U.S. for stateside reveals. Certain launches are broadcasted throughout the globe, as models launched in one place are frequently debuted in another at the same time, though sometimes under a different moniker. The FZ series is one example of new models that have brought success to Yamaha in recent years. The FZ-09 was revealed in 2013, with the FZ-07 following in 2014. "The FZ series, I think, has really been the biggest surprise," McNeal revealed. "At the time those concepts were developed, full fair- ing supersport dominated the industry. These ideas and plans were put together at the darkest part of the recession, and there really wasn't a developing market at that time for what we call traditional/naked bikes in the industry. The FZ-09, FZ-07 and some variation models that have already been produced, they've been a very happy example of developing some of those new riders and new markets." He added, "The FZ series, which is multi- platformed in variation models, has already proven a huge success. They've increased deal- ers' volume and profit centers because a lot of these models that have been brought out in the McNEAL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14 See McNeal, Page 21 EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR – DENNIS McNEAL