| Zak Brown | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Brown at theGoodwood Festival of Speed in 2021 | |
| Born | (1971-11-07)November 7, 1971 (age 54) |
| 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 |
Zakary Challen "Zak"Brown (born November 7, 1971)[2] is an American motorsports executive. He is the chief executive officer ofMcLaren Racing.[3] Born and raised in California,[4] Brown raced professionally around the world for ten years before focusing on motorsport's business and commercial worlds.
Brown co-founded and co-ownsUnited Autosports, a professional team competing in international sportscar racing and various historic racing events around the world.[5] Through United, he co-ownsSupercars Championship teamWalkinshaw Andretti United alongsideMichael Andretti and Ryan Walkinshaw, as well asExtreme E'sAndretti United XE and McLaren XE. He was the non-executive chairman ofMotorsport 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 thePaddock Magazine F1 Power List[8] and his induction into theSports Business Journal "Forty Under 40" Hall of Fame, where he was listed three times.[9][10] He was named Promo Marketer of the Year byPROMO Magazine,[11] andJust Marketing, Inc. (JMI), a motorsports marketing agency founded by Brown in 1995, has appeared five times inInc. Magazine's "Inc 500" annual list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the United States.[12]
Brown began his racing career in karting in 1986, winning 22 races in five seasons from 1986 to 1990. He moved to Europe where his first win was inFormula Ford 1600 at England'sDonington Park.[citation needed] 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 fourth in the series.
Brown has competed on both sides of the Atlantic, contesting North America'sToyota Atlantic Series in addition to the Formula Opel-Lotus Benelux Series and1994 British Formula Three Championship. Brown made hisIndy Lights debut atLaguna Seca in 1995[13][circular reference] and competed in aGerman Formula Three Championship race in 1996.
In 1997, Brown competed at the24 Hours at Daytona and12 Hours of Sebring in the GT2 class withRoock Racing in a factory-supportedPorsche 911 GT2, finishing second in both.[14][15]
Brown took a sabbatical from professional racing between 2001 and 2005 to concentrate on JMI, his motorsport marketing business. In 2006 he returned to the track with an entry in theBritcar 24 Hours race, winning his class as a member of the driver line-up for Moore International Motorsport.[16] In 2007, he contested theFerrari Challenge Series as part of a six-car stable fielded byFerrari of Washington. At his debut in Fontana, he started in pole position and led every lap to claim 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 andRichard Dean co-foundedUnited Autosports.[19] In 2010 the team scored a third-place finish in the GT3 category at theTotal 24 Hours of Spa and recorded its maiden class victory in the2011 British GT Championship at Snetterton.[20] In 2012, the team raced in both theBlancpain Endurance Series with aMcLaren MP4-12C and theBritish GT Championship with anAudi R8 LMS. The team also competed in the Dubai 12 Hour race, the Bathurst 12 Hour,[21] Macau GT Cup, and theSpa 24 Hours. Brown himself won the last round of the British GT Championship at Donington Park withÁlvaro Parente as a wild-card entry for the team in aMcLaren MP4-12C GT3.[22]
In 2013, Brown competed in a full season of theBritish GT Championship withUnited Autosports in aMcLaren MP4-12C GT3.[23] Brown still races regularly in historic events, such as theGrand Prix de Monaco Historique and theMonterey Motorsports Reunion.[24]
In 1995, he foundedJust 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 ofChime Communications Limited,[27] and Brown became the company's CEO. He relinquished that position in the winter of 2016 to focus on his responsibilities withMcLaren.[28]
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 includingFernando Alonso,Juan Pablo Montoya,Lando Norris; andPaul di Resta.[31] The team currently competes in theFIA World Endurance Championship,European Le Mans Series,Michelin Le Mans Cup andGT4 European Series. It has also recorded podium success in other events around the world, such as theMacau GT Cup, theSpa 24 Hours, the Abu Dhabi 12 Hours and theBathurst 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 inauguralExtreme E series, pairing withAndretti 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]
In 2016, Brown was announced as executive director ofMcLaren Technology Group, and in 2018 he became the chief executive officer ofMcLaren Racing under an operational restructuring.[41][42][43] As CEO, Brown has overall responsibility for the business, including strategic direction, operational performance, marketing and commercial development. Under Brown’s leadership, McLaren won the2024 Formula One World Constructors' Championship and the2025 Formula One World Constructors' Championship.
As a teenager, Brown competed on the game showWheel of Fortune in 1984, where he won $3,050 from which Brown bought his first kart.[44]
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Brown isJewish and was raised in theSan Fernando Valley,Los Angeles, CA.[45][46] He is married and has two sons, McGuire and Maxwell, and lives inSurrey,United Kingdom. Brown has tattoos of theAutodromo Nazionale Monza andMiami International Autodrome, afterDaniel Ricciardo's win at the2021 Italian Grand Prix andLando Norris's win at the2024 Miami Grand Prix.[47][48]
Brown is an avid collector of historical documents and sporting memorabilia, as well as both road and racing cars.[49] His car collection is primarily housed in the workshop ofUnited Autosports, the sports car team Brown jointly owns with Richard Dean.[50]
The collection includes:
Headquarters:Indianapolis,Indiana | |
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