Jason Chinnock is the CEO of Ducati North America as the brand hits 100 years

Ducati North America

Ducati, the Italian motorcycle company responsible for some of the most capable, and beautiful, motorcycles ever created, turns 100 in 2026. Ducati is celebrating its centenary with the most aggressive model launch cycle in the company’s history. This year the brand will introduce eight new production models, a new lightweight “V2” engine, and the company’s first motocross bike – the Desmo450 MX – along with a special lightweight version of the Superleggera V4, appropriately called the “Centenario”.

That level of product activity would be more than enough to keep most company leaders occupied, but Ducati’s CEO of North America, Jason Chinnock, is not your typical CEO. He’s a genuine motorcycle enthusiast who began his career behind the parts counter of a Ducati dealership in Fort Collins, Colorado. From there he was hired by Ducati North America, served in leadership roles in sales and marketing, and even spent time at Lamborghini after Audi AG purchased Ducati in 2012. Jason ultimately found his way back to Ducati, where his passion for the brand is serving him well as the CEO of North America.

I recently had an opportunity to speak with Jason about how his love for two-wheeled transportation has manifested, not only in his leadership duties but also in his willingness to personally play a role in the launch of Ducati’s new off-road model, the Desmo450 MX.

Karl Brauer: What I most want people to understand about you is your level of passion. You think of a CEO of any kind of large corporation, particularly an automotive or a motorcycle corporation, and you don't necessarily think they are very hands-on, or maybe not even super passionate about the product. You hope they are. You want to think they are. But I think a lot of times you maybe question whether they really are. Please tell us some of your recent involvement in the expanded racing activity that Ducati is undertaking, the fact that they're at their 100-year celebration, and what you specifically did with a motorcycle as part of all of this.

Jason Chinnock: It’s a great question and I think that, to your point, being a motorcyclist first and actually in the motorcycling industry, in my opinion you’re required to be an enthusiast. And ideally a rider. I mean, people can be passionate and enjoy motorcycling. But riding is critical in order to be able to connect with our clients and understand the things that motivate them. And for me, starting from my humble beginnings as a parts guy, behind a counter at a motorcycle dealership in Colorado, I’ve been able to successfully manage taking that passion and just refining and honing my professionalism through my career.

But I had a clear goal in mind of what I wanted to do when I got into the world of motorcycling for a career. And I was also very paramount in helping to steer Ducati’s path towards the off-road world, which comes a little bit from my own passion as well. Most American motorcyclists get our first experience riding a motorcycle in the dirt. It's usually off-road, that's our experience, which is very it's very different than Europe, where a lot of people have scooters or there's other two-wheeled means of travel as functional transportation. For Americans, it’s more about entertainment; what people are going to do with their discretionary time and money.

Brauer: And motorcyclists are a tiny niche in the overall U.S. market.

Chinnock: "Exactly, and if you don't have that passion then you're just chasing numbers, and I think then you lose the connection of what inspires and motivates people to ride in the first place. And I’m always looking to expand the Ducati brand, so it didn't just come from my own enthusiasm for off-road riding from my youth. It’s also – how do we grow the Ducati brand yet stay true to our core values of style sophistication performance? And we're very competitive as a brand as you know, in MotoGP and World Superbike, so for us to enter the world of off-road racing was a really a natural place to go.

So, we've entered this last year into the Supercross racing and actually we'll be at the outdoor motocross races as well, with Troy Lee and Red Bull and a couple great riders. We’ve been staying within the top 10, which is amazing for the first year ever coming into the world of Supercross. I’ve had people tell me that that should not be underestimated. Most people don't expect us to finish in the top 10, let alone being consistently there, so that's been a really important piece of our strategy in growing the brand.

But also my own enthusiasm, and to your point the 100th anniversary that you mentioned, this year I was looking for a way for me to connect with our past. I’ve had vintage bikes in the past. I love Ducati’s history. And what could I do in order to connect the past? I did a bunch of homework and I’ve always heard about this bike, the Ducati 450 R/T Desmo, that was one of the first motocross bikes built for the North American market in 1971. I did some research, found old articles, and decided to get my hand not only on one but two. Because when you're rebuilding a bike, you need to have spares, and that's the best way to do it – get two.

Brauer: Sounds like you've been down this road before.

Chinnock: Yes, and you also find out between the two what the real bike was supposed to be, because bikes have been modified so much over the last 50-some-odd years. So, I took on a project of making a resto mod. It started off with the idea of just restoring it. Then I’m like, “Well why do that? I have improved suspension and improved technology these days, in order to make the bike better, so why not have the classic soul and that motor and the frame, and then modernize it?” And then, what am I going to do with it? So, I entered this race in the Southern California Mojave Desert called the Biltwell 100, which is a 100-mile race across the desert, and it’s meant to just kind of capture that enthusiasm behind what I’m learning.

Brauer: Wow, a 100-mile race across the desert, no pavement involved, on a 54-year-old motorcycle…

Chinnock: I know, because I actually found that the manufacturing date is the same as my birthday, so it's as old as I am. I got the VIN and I pulled the old label off, and I even hand stamped the new label, and its production was the same month as myself, so it was meant to be.

Brauer: That's awesome.

Chinnock: Yes, and then the next day I’m going to race our modern cross-country bike in the desert, so it's kind of fun connecting the historical piece of it to today.

Brauer: So just to be clear, we've got a 100-year anniversary of Ducati, and my understanding is you guys are going to be launching more new bikes this year than in any single calendar year in the past?

Chinnock: Yes, the most new models ever this year. It's incredible.

Brauer: In case we needed validation that the Ducati brand is healthy and vibrant, I think we just got it. Thank you for taking the time to talk to us Jason about not just your role at Ducati but all the amazing things going on with the brand right now. It sounds like this is going to be a busy year.