The RV industry’s true “wiz kid”
Thor Industries announced this week that it had promoted Dicky Riegel as its new chief operating officer and that all Thor subsidiaries will report to him.
I have only had the opportunity to meet him on a handful of occasions, but each time Mr. Riegel has impressed me as being a genuinely nice guy. He seems passionate about what he does, but caring enough about people that he isn’t a ruthless crusader climbing to the top over the backs of others. Apparently, the chieftains at Thor see even better qualities in him as evidenced by his meteoric rise in power and influence at the company.
Before he was 38, Riegel brought Airstream into the 21st Century as its president. At 40, he was tapped to serve as group president over seven other Thor manufacturers and helped lead the company to continued profitability quarter after quarter. His latest promotion shows that, at 41, Riegel is being groomed for greatness in the RV industry.
I’m sure it helps being the son-in-law of Thor Chairman, President and CEO Wade Thompson. But, as a dad of daughters only myself, I suspect Thompson sees something in Riegel that sets his heart at ease in knowing that he can entrust two of his most valuable assets to Riegel’s care — his company and his daughter.
Although I feel uncomfortable calling the leader of a billion dollar company “Dicky,” I’ll simply offer my congratulations to Dick for his remarkable performance and a well-deserved promotion.
October 31st, 2007 at 9:22 pm
I’ve met Dicky several times at industry trade shows and he is a very knowledgeable, personable and very available executive. He will always make time for the press, despite the hectic nature of industry events, especially the Louisville show. I have never had a problem getting access to him and he is genuinely interested in responding to requests for quotes, story information and/or photographs.
When you analyze the business operations and success of this industry leader, you understand that it’s not the type of company to promote somebody based on their name, marriage partner, or relationship to the CEO.
Having covered this industry for over ten years now, I can assure you that the last thing Wade Thompson would do is promote somebody - andybody - that he did not think earned the right to accept a new challenge. While it may be early to predict the results here, I’m betting on Mr. Thompson’s insight and experience - he has established an enviable pattern of success since the day he first got involved in the RV industry.