Zak Brown

For the English footballer, see Zak Brown (footballer). For other people with similar names, see Zach Brown (disambiguation).

Zakary Challen Brown (born November 7, 1971)^[2] is an American businessman and former professional racing driver, currently residing in England. He is the Chief Executive Officer of McLaren Racing.^[3] Born and raised in California,^[4] Brown raced professionally around the world for ten years before developing his skills in motorsport's business and commercial worlds.

Zak Brown
Brown at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2021
Nationality	American
Born	(1971-11-07) November 7, 1971 (age 51) Los Angeles, California U.S.^[1]
Previous series
2012–13 2012 2012 2012 2010 2007–09 2005–06 2000, 2010–11 1999–2000, 2011 1997–98 1996 1996 1994–95 1994 1993–96, 1998 1992–93 1991	British GT Championship Blancpain Endurance Series Le Mans Classic Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion FIA GT3 European Championship Ferrari Challenge North America Britcar Rolex Sports Car Series American Le Mans Series FIA GT Championship German Formula Three Indy Lights British Formula 3 EFDA Nations Cup Toyota Atlantics Opel-Lotus Benelux Series British Formula Vauxhall Lotus Formula Ford 1600
Championship titles
1988–90	International Kart Federation
Awards
2013–2019 2012 2012 2012 2005 2010 1994 1992 1986	Formula One Power List NASCAR Power List Formula One Power List Sports Business Journal's 'Forty under 40' Promo Magazine 'Marketer of the Year' Jim Trueman Award RFA Promising Young Star AARWB Sports Car Driver GCKS Rookie of the Year
Occupation	Chief Executive Officer of McLaren Racing

Brown co-founded and co-owns United Autosports, a professional team competing in international sportscar racing and various historic racing events around the world.^[5] Through United, he co-owns Supercars Championship team Walkinshaw Andretti United alongside Michael Andretti and Ryan Walkinshaw, as well as Extreme E's Andretti United XE and McLaren XE. He was the non-executive chairman of Motorsport Network, a global market-leading motorsport and automotive digital platform, between 2016 and 2019.^[6][7]

Brown has been recognised by a range of industry bodies and publications, including the Paddock Magazine F1 Power List^[8] and his induction into the Sports Business Journal "Forty Under 40" Hall of Fame, where he has been listed three times.^[9][10] He was named Promo Marketer of the Year by PROMO Magazine,^[11] and JMI has appeared five times in Inc. Magazine's "Inc 500" annual list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the United States.^[12]

Career

In racing

Brown began his racing career in karting in 1986, winning 22 races in 5 seasons from 1986 to 1990. He moved to Europe where his first win was in Formula Ford 1600 at England's Donington Park. In the 1992 Formula Opel-Lotus Benelux Series Brown secured top-ten finishes in each of the season's races. The following year Brown finished 4th in the series.

Brown has competed on both sides of the Atlantic, contesting North America's Toyota Atlantic Series in addition to the Formula Opel-Lotus Benelux Series and 1994 British Formula Three Championship. Brown made his Indy Lights debut at Laguna Seca in 1995^{[13][circular reference]} and competed in a German Formula Three Championship race in 1996.

In 1997 Brown finished second in the GT2 category in the 24 Hours at Daytona with Roock Racing in a factory-supported Porsche 911 GT2.^[14] He also finished second in the 1997 12 Hours of Sebring.^[15]

2000s and beyond

Brown took a sabbatical from professional racing between 2001–2005 to concentrate on JMI. In 2006 he returned to the track with an entry in the Britcar 24 Hours race, winning his class as a member of the driver line-up for Moore International Motorsport.^[16] In 2007 he contested the Ferrari Challenge Series as part of a six-car stable fielded by Ferrari of Washington. At his debut in Fontana he started in pole position and led every lap of the race to take victory.^[17] The following year Brown returned to full-time competition, with his Ferrari Challenge Series campaign highlighted by a win at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.^[18]

In 2009 Brown and Richard Dean co-founded United Autosports.^[19] In 2010 the team scored a third-place finish in the GT3 category at the Total 24 Hours of Spa and recorded its maiden class victory in the 2011 British GT Championship at Snetterton.^[20] In 2012, the team raced in both the Blancpain Endurance Series with a McLaren MP4-12C and the British GT Championship with an Audi R8 LMS. The team also competed in the Dubai 12 Hour race, the Bathurst 12 Hour,^[21] Macau GT Cup and the Spa 24 Hours. Brown himself won the last round of the British GT Championship at Donington Park with Álvaro Parente as a wild card entry for the team in a McLaren MP4-12C GT3.^[22]

In 2013 Brown competed in a full season of the British GT Championship with United Autosports in a McLaren MP4-12C GT3.^[23] Brown still races regularly in historic events, such as the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique.^[24]

Management roles

In 1995, he founded Just Marketing International (JMI),^[25] which grew to become the largest motorsport marketing agency in the world. In 2013, JMI was acquired by CSM,^[26] a division of Chime Communications Limited,^[27] and Brown became the company's CEO. He relinquished that position in the winter of 2016 to focus on his responsibilities with McLaren.^[28]

United Autosports

United Autosports, one of the largest motorsport teams in the UK and competing globally in different sports prototype and GT categories across the world,^[29] is co-owned by Brown and racing driver Richard Dean.^[30] Founded in 2009, the team has raced in a number of championships using a variety of different cars across several classes and categories, with drivers including Fernando Alonso, Juan Pablo Montoya, Lando Norris and Paul di Resta.^[31] The team currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship, European Le Mans Series, Michelin Le Mans Cup and GT4 European Series. It has also recorded podium success in other events around the world, such as the Macau GT Cup, the Spa 24 Hours, the Abu Dhabi 12 Hours and the Bathurst 12 Hour race in Australia.^[32]

United Autosports also operates a Historic Division, restoring, preparing and managing a range of historic sportscars and F1 race cars, some from Brown's own collection, as well as for customers.^[33] These compete globally at such events as the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,^[34] the Silverstone Classic,^[35] Monaco Historics, Le Mans Classic,^[36] Spa Classic,^[37] Nürburgring Old Timers, and Goodwood Festival of Speed.^[38]

In 2021, United Autosports entered the inaugural Extreme E series, pairing with Andretti Autosport to enter the Andretti United XE team.^[39] When McLaren formed its own Extreme E program in 2022, Brown stressed he was a "silent partner" in Andretti United XE and that he would exclusively focus on McLaren.^[40]

McLaren Racing

On November 21, 2016, Brown was announced as executive director of McLaren Technology Group.^[41] On April 10, 2018, Brown became the chief executive officer of McLaren Racing as part of an operational restructure of the McLaren Group.^[42][43] As CEO, Brown has overall responsibility for the business, including strategic direction, operational performance, marketing and commercial development.

Personal life

Brown is married and has two sons, McGuire and Maxwell, and lives in Surrey, United Kingdom.

Brown is an avid collector of historical documents and sporting memorabilia, as well as both road and racing cars.^[44] His car collection is primarily housed in the workshop of United Autosports, the sports car team Brown jointly owns with Richard Dean.^[45]

The collection includes:

• Ayrton Senna's 1991 Monaco Grand Prix-winning McLaren MP4/6
• Dale Earnhardt's 1984 Chevrolet Monte Carlo NASCAR stock car
• Porsche 959 modified by Canepa
• Porsche 962, chassis 120
• Jaguar XJR-10
• McLaren Speedtail Pre-Production 1 (PP1), painted in Sienna Black
• Ferrari F50, painted in Giallo Modena yellow
• McLaren M8D
• Mika Hakkinen's 2001 British Grand Prix winning MP4/16
• Nigel Mansell's 1993 IndyCar Series title-winning Lola T93/00

References

1. Is this failed Formula One driver the next Bernie Ecclestone? The Guardian. January 29, 2011.
2. . Companies House. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
3. "Zak Brown". McLaren Group. Retrieved August 18, 2019.^{[permanent dead link]}
4. "Zak Brown CEO". McLaren Group. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
5. "Zak Brown". united Autosports. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
6. "Motorsport.com Appoints Zak Brown Non-Executive Chairman". Motorsport. January 28, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
7. "Zak Brown leaves Motorsport Network". Pitpass. October 10, 2019. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
8. "100 Most Influential People in Formula 1". Paddock Magazine. May 31, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
9. "Forty Under 40 Hall of Fame". Sports Business Journal. March 21, 2011. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
10. "Business Journal's Forty Under 40 Hall of Fame". Sports Business Daily. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
11. "Zak Brown". Motorsport Network. January 28, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
12. Donald A. DePalma (August 30, 2010). "Inc. 5,000 List Includes Fast-Growing Language Service Providers". The Lingua House. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
13. 1995 Indy Lights season
14. "Daytona 24 Hours 1997". Racing Sports Cars. February 2, 1997. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
15. "Sebring 12 Hours 1997". Racing Sports Cars. March 15, 1997. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
16. David Lord (September 10, 2006). "title". Dailysportscar. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
17. Patrick C. Paternie (October 17, 2007). "2007 Ferrari Challenge: Fantastic finish leaves unfinished business". AutoWeek. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
18. Mike Kraemer (November 3, 2008). "Ferrari Challenge Event Reports". HoJo Racing. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
19. Automobile Club de l’Ouest (June 13, 2019). "24 Hours of Le Mans – United Autosports (LMP2)". Le Mans .org. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
20. Mark Howson (May 15, 2011). "A Remarkable First Win For United Autosports". Dailysportscar. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
21. Sam Tickell (February 26, 2012). "Rain Doesn't Dampen Three-Way Fight". Dailysportscar. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
22. Mark Howson (September 30, 2012). "The Agony And The Ecstasy". Dailysportscar. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
23. "Driver Biography: Zak Brown". British GT Championship. Retrieved August 27, 2019.^{[permanent dead link]}
24. Dan Knutson (October 11, 2017). "Zak Brown – The Power and the Passion". Autoaction. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
25. "Just Marketing International". Indeed. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
26. Tripp Mickle, Staff Writer (October 25, 2013). "London-Based Chime Communications Acquires Just Marketing Int'l For $76M". Sports Business daily. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
27. Anthony Schoettle (October 25, 2013). "British firm to buy Just Marketing for $76 million". Indianapolis Business Journal. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
28. Chris Medland (August 26, 2016). "Zak Brown quits role amid F1 links". F1.com. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
29. "United Autosports". Motorsport.com. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
30. "United Autosports". United Autosports. September 14, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
31. "United Autosports Driver, Past & Present". United Autosports. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
32. "United Autosports History". United Autosports. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
33. "United Autosports Historic Motorsport". United Autosports. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
34. "962 Win for United Austosports at Monterey". .Historic Racing News. August 22, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
35. "United Autosports parades former British Grand Prix race winner in Silverstone classic". Motorsport.com. July 22, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
36. "United Autosports enters ultra-successful Porsche for team's maiden Le Mans classic outing". Motorsport.com. July 4, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
37. "United Autosports successfully races magnificently restored machines of yesteryear". Endurance Classic. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
38. "Schumacher Benetton on display at Goodwood Festival of Speed". Motorsport.com. June 24, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2019.^{[permanent dead link]}
39. Wilde, Dominik (July 23, 2020). "Andretti links with McLaren F1 boss's team for Extreme E". DirtFish. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
40. Kew, Matt (June 11, 2021). "McLaren commits to Extreme E entry in 2022". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
41. "McLaren confirms Zak Brown as new executive director". Motorsport.com. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
42. Noble, Jonathan (April 1, 2018). . Archived from the original on August 7, 2020.
43. "McLaren Group continues corporate simplification". April 10, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
44. Callum Murray (July 7, 2017). . Sport Cal. Archived from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
45. Osten, Phillip van (August 10, 2021). "Take a tour of Zak Brown's amazing car collection". F1i.com. Retrieved May 14, 2022.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zak Brown.

• McLaren Racing page