Industry Friends Fondly Remember Forest River’s Pete Liegl – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
BRISTOL, Ind. – The RV industry is offering its condolences and support following Tuesday’s news of the passing of Forest River Inc. Founder, President & CEO Peter Liegl (See “Forest River Founder, Industry Titan Pete Liegl has Passed”).
Indeed, the tributes acknowledging Liegl’s accomplishments at Forest River and his deep-felt impact on the North American RV sector have been pouring in from colleagues and competitors.
“He’s the George Washington on the Mount Rushmore of the RV industry,” said Jarrod McGhee, founder and CEO of Fun Town RV, which has over 20 stores in Texas and five other states.
Liegl’s iconic status in the RV industry cannot be overstated. He founded Forest River in 1996, which he continued to lead even after selling the company to Berkshire Hathaway in 2005. Under his leadership, Forest River grew to be one of the largest RV manufacturers in North America, producing motorhomes, travel trailers, fifth-wheels, toy haulers, camping trailers and destination trailers.
Headquartered in Elkhart, Ind., Forest River employs over 14,000 people in 100-plus facilities in more than a half dozen states.
“When I founded Forest River, I had a vision of a company dedicated to helping people experience the joy of the outdoors by building better recreational vehicles and assuring that every family that desires quality recreation would find a product that serves their needs, interests, budget and lifestyle,” Liegl stated in a 2016 letter to employees for the company’s 20th Anniversary.
Born April 30, 1944, in Petoskey, Mich., Liegl is survived by his wife Sharon, daughter Lisa L. Rees – who is the co-founder and general manager of East to West RV, a division of Forest River – son-in-law Logan Rees, grandchildren Adrienne (6) and Ryan (3) and brother-in-law Gary Chamberlin.
Liegl, who earned an undergraduate degree in 1968 from Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Mich., and an MBA in 1971 from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Mich., was also active in a number of philanthropic and civic-minded efforts, including the Elkhart Health & Aquatics Center near downtown Elkhart.
Awards & Accolades
In 2022, Liegl received the Distinguished Service Award from the RV IndustryAssociation – RVIA’s highest honor – which is presented to an individual within the RV industry who has set himself or herself apart by outstanding service.
RVIA President Craig Kirby said the association was “deeply saddened” to learn of Liegl’s passing.
“Pete was an industry titan in every sense of the word, and for nearly three decades, he’s built Forest River into one of the world’s most well-known, respected, and successful RV manufacturers,” Kirby said. “His entrepreneurial leadership and innovative ideas were major drivers of the RV industry’s growth, and his vision for Forest River helped introduce RV travel and camping to millions of families and outdoor enthusiasts.
“Pete was a steadfast advocate for our association and always generously encouraged many talented people within Forest River to be active on the Association’s Board and on many committees,” Kirby continued. “Pete was also a generous benefactor and patron for many deserving causes nationally as well as in the greater Elkhart area. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to his loving family, as well as to everyone at Forest River. He will be deeply missed, but his impact and legacy of leadership both professionally and personally will forever endure.”
In 2021, Liegl received the Titan Award from the national RV Dealers Association – RVDA’s highest honor – at the RVBusiness Power Breakfast in Elkhart, Ind., for his “pioneering efforts to make RV travel a preferred leisure activity for millions of Americans.”
“Pete Liegl’s innovative product ideas and business savvy had a major impact on the RV industry’s growth this century,” said RVDA President Phil Ingrassia. “He helped make the dream of RV travel attainable for people from all walks of life.”
Liegl was elected to the RV/MH Hall of Fame in 2009. His Hall of Fame plaque reads:
“Pete is a long-time industry executive and promoter having developed several companies. Starting in 1996, he built his current company through development and acquisition into the nation’s largest manufacturer of towable RVs and Elkhart County’s largest employer, providing jobs for over 6,500 workers. He has, for many years, been an imaginative entrepreneur and active cheerleader for the RV industry. He is most publicly recognized for building his company into the industry’s largest privately owned manufacturer and selling it to Warren Buffett, bringing the prestige of Berkshire Hathaway into the RV industry.”
Friends & Colleagues
In a sterling example of how things often go within the North American RV industry, THOR Industries Inc. President & CEO Bob Martin first met Pete Liegl back in the day when Liegl was at Cobra Van America and Martin was in his earliest days at Coachmen Industries Inc. before the two evolved into friends and generally amicable competitors.
While their companies eventually represented the top two OEM’s in terms of volume, in fact, Martin said he and Liegl generally worked well together on some vital projects including the timing of the Elkhart RV Open House and some philanthropic initiatives.
Liegl, for instance, joined Martin in shoring up financial support for a new football field at Elkhart High School as well as an Elkhart Health & Aquatics Center that has contributed to the vitality of Elkhart’s downtown. Both, in turn, have played key roles in supporting a joint foundation that provides financial assistance to employees and others faced with major problems like house fires, family crises and medical setbacks.
“Yes,” Martin told RVB, “I think I met Pete back in 1993 in my first week on the job at Coachmen and just had interactions with him throughout my entire career, and I’ve always admired him and held him in the highest regard. And he had always been just a great person to me and a great competitor. We would have our differences at times, but more often than not, we found our way to see eye to eye most of the time.
“Pete was a fierce competitor,” added Martin, who, as well as Liegl, was inducted into the RV/MH Hall of Fame. “He has always run just a great company. And I mean that — the fact that he built up Forest River from the ashes of Cobra and ultimately (in 2005) sold it to Berkshire and did very well for himself. And he just had such a loyal following. He had people that had worked for him for many, many years, and they were dedicated to Pete and very loyal.
“And for us, as competitors we’d still find ways to do the right things in business,” he said, pointing out that September’s industry-wide Open House (Forest River still calls it the “Expo”) was indeed originally Liegl’s idea coming out of the Recession. “And if there were issues, we’d sit down and we’d talk through them and we’d find solutions. Bottom line, there was a side of Pete that I saw that was just a softer side and very generous.”
What Don Gunden, a Forest River veteran who served as general manager of the company’s Rockwood, Flagstaff and Palomino lines for years before his February retirement, will remember most about Pete is that “he afforded all of us opportunities we probably would never have gotten any place else. He was a damn good leader and he’s going to be sorely missed and people don’t know how much yet.”
What made him a good leader?
“He was a good leader because, A, he had good ideas. And B, if he disagreed with you or you disagreed with him, he always heard you out and you always heard him out. And whoever had the better idea won.”
Long story short, again, said Gunden, Liegl will be earnestly missed. “Yes, you know, Pete really had a big heart. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for you if you needed it. Bottom line, we lost a boss, but we also lost a friend.”
Calling him “a dear friend, a visionary leader, and a mentor to so many” including himself, Fun Town RV‘s McGhee, said Liegl was “more than just a pioneer in our industry; he was our North Star, guiding the RV world with wisdom, determination and a sense of purpose that set the standard for decades.”
McGhee credited Liegl’s “unwavering faith” and “invaluable advice” were instrumental in the dealership’s success. “His support was not just professional but deeply personal – a testament to the kind of man he was,” he said.
“Pete was not only an incredible businessman but also a person who deeply cared for the people and companies he worked with,” McGhee continued. “True to his brilliance, he placed the right leaders in the right roles to ensure Forest River will continue to grow and thrive, a legacy that speaks to his forward-thinking vision.”
McGhee said his relationship with the “Big Dog” – his nickname for Liegl – grew into a solid friendship.
“Pete took to (McGhee’s son) Chandler when he was real young and we started to come up to Open House and me and Chandler would stay at the house with him and Sharon,” McGhee said. “We got pretty close to him over the years. Poor Sharon had to go out to dinner with me and Pete all the time and listen to us talk forever and ever. I felt so bad for her over the years.”
Jason Lippert, president and CEO of Lippert Components Inc., Elkhart, Ind., said he’s learned a lot from Liegl, especially how he always seemed to have a different angle when approaching a challenge.
“And I learned a lot just by listening to the questions that he’d ask; that was a big thing for me,” Lippert said. “And he really taught me how a business can be run efficiently. I don’t know of a business that ran more efficiently than his. I watched a lot of the things he did and a lot of ways he ran his business, and tried to mimic as much as we could.”
He also noted that Liegl had a lot of “Pete-isms.”
“His best one that he used with me a lot is, ‘Pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered.’ He used that all the time. It was always a warning: You can make a reasonable profit, but just don’t go over the edge,” Lippert chuckled.
When asked to put into perspective his impact on the North American RV industry, Lippert said Liegl’s “aggressive” stance on price is responsible for tens of thousands of units each year.
“He created a lot of product that customers wanted and got aggressive on price often to make sure that anything that they tried in the market sold,” Lippert explained. “They just drove a lot of sales because of his aggressiveness. And, I don’t know, we might be sitting on a 250,000-unit market right now versus 350 because of how aggressive he was. Whether it was innovation, whether it was new product, whether it was affordability – he hit it from all angles.”
Jeff Hirsch of Campers Inn RV, the Jacksonville, Fla.-based dealer group with 37 locations across the U.S., said Liegl was a “positive disruptor who challenged the industry on many fronts” and a “risk-taker” for, among other things, founding Forest River with not much more than a “very clear vision for what he wanted for the company” which was to be both “value-oriented and innovative.”
“Obviously, that took a lot of guts to go ahead and go after it,” Hirsch told RVBusiness, adding that some of his most cherished moments with Liegl are when the two of them would meet for personal, meaningful conversations.
“We talked about life in general, and how he reflected on his life and his vision for Forest River going forward,” Hirsch said. “One of the things he said that he wanted to accomplish was that he wanted to see Forest River be more focused on quality, continue to be innovative in floorplans, to be more focused on the customer, and to make sure that the customer truly had a good experience. And he started to shape his company with a commitment to parts, warranty and service – and he did that.”
Hirsch also singled out Liegl’s “passion” for Forest River.
“I don’t think that anybody in the industry today that works for Forest River, I should say, had the love that he had for his company, even after he sold it to Warren Buffett,” he said. “He wanted to make sure that his legacy was defined by his accomplishments with Forest River – and I think he achieved that because the Forest River that we know today is different than the one we knew yesterday. I think that’s one of his greatest accomplishments: transitioning the company to be more focused on the end-user, our customer.”
Calling him a “visionary leader and innovator whose contributions profoundly shaped our industry,” Winnebago Industries President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Happe said he and the rest of the company were “saddened to hear of the passing of Liegl.
“His passion and larger-than-life presence will be greatly missed. Pete’s determination throughout his career inspired countless individuals and left an indelible mark on everyone who had the opportunity to work with or compete against him,” Happe said. “On behalf of Winnebago Industries, we extend our heartfelt condolences to his loving wife, daughter and son-in-law, grandchildren, and all those who cherished him. Our thoughts are with his family and the entire Forest River team during this difficult time.
“Pete’s legacy will continue to remind us all of the transformative power of bold leadership and dedication to making the outdoors a place for fun and connection,” he added.
“I text-visited with Lisa (Liegl’s daughter Lisa Rees) this morning and I just told her that her dad was my favorite human being on the planet,” said Rockport, Texas-based dealer Ron Hoover, CEO of Ron Hoover RV & Marine Centers with 18 locations throughout the Lone Star State. “I just loved talking to him – an unbelievable person, just brilliant.”
Hoover, who worked with Liegl for a bunch of years as a key Forest River dealer, considered him “an icon in our industry that nobody will ever replace.”
“Yeah, you know a lot of people were afraid of Pete, but Pete and I had a great relationship,” said Hoover. “Every time I went to Elkhart, I’d go visit with him and we’d just talk for hours. And he was a visionary. He was always thinking about down the road and planning for the future. That’s what we’d talk about, not what was going on today; but what was going to happen in three or four years from now. He’d listen and ask good questions, and I’m going to miss him.”
On behalf of Patrick Industries, President Jeff Rodino expressed his company’s condolences.
“We are mourning the loss of Pete Liegl, a visionary leader who profoundly shaped the RV industry in ways that will resonate for generations. We are deeply grateful for everything he has done to pave the way for our success and inspire countless others to make their mark. Mr. Liegl’s influence will remain a cornerstone of our industry and community, today and forever,” Rodino said.
