Jeff Bleustein

Harley-Davidson's head of engineering, an associate professor of engineering at Yale, who was recruited in the middle of the AMF era by Ray Tritten. He really professionalized the engineering department at Milwaukee, bringing in highly qualified people who didn't necessarily know much about motorcycles, but had good track records in other fields of engineering. This wasn't always popular (the traditional Harley way was less academic), but in the end it bore fruit. Bleustein oversaw the development of the Evolution V-twin, which was crucial to Harley's 1980s turnaround, as well as the NOVA program of water-cooled engines, which never got beyond the prototype stage.