Zak Brown
| Zak Brown | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nationality | American |
| Born |
November 7, 1971 Los Angeles, California U.S.[1] |
| Current team | United Autosports |
| Previous series | |
| 2013 2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 2011 2010 2007–09 2005–06 2000, 2010–2011 1999–2000 1997–98 1996 1996 1994–95 1994 1993–96, 1998 1992–93 1991 |
British GT Championship Blancpain Endurance Series British GT Championship Le Mans Classic Rolex Monterey Reunion ALMS Series FIA GT Championship FIA GT3 European Championship Ferrari Challenge USA 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 Benelux Opel Lotus Series British Opel Lotus Series Formula Ford 1600 |
| Championship titles | |
| 1988–90 | International Kart Federation |
| Awards | |
| 2012 2012 2012 2005 2010 1994 1992 1986 |
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 |
Zak Brown (born November 7, 1971) is an American businessman and former professional racing driver, currently residing in London, England. Brown is currently the Executive Director of McLaren Technology Group. He is the founder and CEO of Just Marketing International (JMI), the world’s largest motorsport marketing agency. JMI, which was founded in 1995, was acquired in 2013 by CSM Sport & Entertainment, a division of Chime Communications plc, and Brown became Group Chief Business Development Officer. Brown’s accomplishments as a sports marketer have been reflected through multiple industry recognitions, including as a Marketer of the Year by PROMO magazine, being named four times in the INC 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies of the Year, and his inclusion in the SportsBusinessJournal’s Forty Under 40 Hall of Fame, having been presented the award three times.
Racing career
Brown began his racing career in karting in 1986. Brown won 22 races in 5 seasons from 1986–1990. He moved to Europe where his first win was in Formula Ford 1600 at England's Donington Park. Brown received his first accolade as a professional driver, earning recognition in 1992 from the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association. In the 1992 Benelux Open Lotus Series Brown turned in top-ten finishes in each of the series races. The following year Brown finished 4th.
At this point Brown was competing on both sides of the Atlantic, performing in North America's Toyota Atlantic Series in addition to the Benelux Open Lotus Series and British Formula 3 Championship. Racing For America, Inc., named him as “America's Most Promising Young Driving Star”. In the mid-90's Brown added two new racing series to his resume, making his Indy Lights debut at Laguna Seca Raceway in 1995 and competing in a German Formula Three Championship race in 1996.
For the remainder of the decade, Brown primarily competed in America, finishing second in the GT2 category in the famous 24 Hours at Daytona endurance race in 1998, as one of the drivers in a factory Roock Porsche. He finished in second-place finish in the 1998 12 Hours of Sebring and had a third-place finish at Road Atlanta in the same year.
2000 and beyond
Brown took a sabbatical from professional racing between 2001–2005 to concentrate on Just Marketing International. In 2006 Brown returned to the Britcar 24 Hours race, winning his class as part of a four-driver team. In 2007, Brown returned to racing in the 2007 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. The following year saw Brown return to full-time competition where he was consistently at the front of the field. The 2008 campaign was highlighted by a win at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.
In 2009 Brown and Richard Dean co-founded United Autosports. It is a professional sports car racing team with an engineering base in the United Kingdom and a marketing base in the United States.
In 2010 the team scored a third-place finish at the Total 24 Hours of Spa.
The team scored its maiden victory in 2011 in the British GT Championship.
In 2012, the team raced in the Blancpain Endurance Series in McLaren MP4-12C cars and the British GT Championship with an Audi R8 LMS race car. The team also competed in the Dubai 12 Hour race, Bathurst 12 Hours, Macau GT Cup and the Spa 24 Hours. Brown won the last round of the British GT Championship at Donington Park with Álvaro Parente as a wild card entry in a McLaren MP4-12C GT3.
He regularly races in Historic racing events such as the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique.
In 2013 Zak competed in a full season of the British GT Championship with United Autosports in a McLaren MP4-12C GT3. In 2014 and 2015 he is concentrating on historic racing and is taking part in a number of road rallies.
United Autosports
Brown founded the sports car racing team United Autosports with business partner Richard Dean in 2009. The team competes in events around the world such as the Macau GT Cup, the Spa 24-hour race, the Abu Dhabi 12-hour race and the Bathurst 12-hour race in Australia. United Autosports' historic business prepares and manages historic races cars, both for Brown's own collection of historic cars and for customers.
McLaren Technology Group
On 21 November 2016, Brown was announced as the new executive director of McLaren Technology Group[2] after Ron Dennis was forced out. Instead of directly replacing Dennis as CEO, Brown will report directly to the group's Executive Committee. Both Jonathan Neale (Chief Operating Officer) and Brown will jointly lead the businesses as part of the first step in the Group's transition to a new organisational structure.
Historic Motorsports Productions
Brown launched a historic racing series in 2010 with Bobby Rahal. The mission statement of the business is to own, manage and stage a series of premium historic racing events and related lifestyle experiences at historic North American venues. Annually, events will be staged at Barber Motorsports Park, Circuit Mont-Tremblant and Sebring International Raceway.
References
- ↑ Is this failed Formula One driver the next Bernie Ecclestone? The Guardian. January 29, 2011.
- ↑ "McLaren confirms Zak Brown as new executive director". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 2016-11-21.