The Highs and Lows From 2012: Fred Kiekhaefer
What better person to kick off The Highs and Lows of 2012 series on speedonthewater.com than Fred Kiekhaefer, the outgoing president of Mercury Racing? By the time this series is finished in January, Kiekhaefer, who has held the reins of the companyfor 23 years, will be working as a consultant for the high-performance marine engine-building giant in Fond Du Lac, Wis. That’s a big change for a strong and innovative leader. Here’s what he gave as his high and low for 2012.
High: “I guess the high was that Brunswick picked Erik Christiansen to be my successor at Mercury Racing.”
Low: “I was disappointed that Gasse broke a water hose in one race and a steering fitting in another and could not finish all three races at the (Key West) Worlds. It would have been nice to see them win the Worlds. But that’s racing.
“On a larger scale, I am disappointed that our business and the economy has not recovered to the point where I could bring back some of the people we let go. I am still very disappointed that the confidence in the economy has not come back, for very understandable reasons.”
Fred Kiekhaefer
Editor’s Note: Look for a complete feature on Fred Kiekhaefer on the home page of offshoreonly.com tomorrow.
Related Stories
and then