As Chief Executive of McLaren Racing, Zak Brown has overall responsibility for the business, including strategic direction, operational performance, marketing and commercial development. In his role, Zak leads McLaren’s direction and involvement in professional motorsport, spearheaded by the McLaren Formula 1 team. Operating at the pinnacle of global motorsport, McLaren uses the white heat of competition to drive innovation and develop synergies across the group.
Born and raised in California, Zak raced professionally around the world for 10 years before developing his skills in motorsport’s business and commercial worlds.
In 1995, he founded JMI, which grew to become the largest and most successful motorsport marketing agency in the world. When JMI was acquired by CSM, a division of Chime Communications, in 2013, Brown became the company’s Chief Executive Officer. He then relinquished that post to embark on his journey at McLaren in the winter of 2016.
McLaren Group is globally renowned as one of the world’s most illustrious high-technology brands. Since the formation of McLaren Racing in 1963, McLaren has been pioneering and innovating in the competitive world of Formula 1, forging a formidable reputation which has seen the racing team win 20 World Championships and over 180 races.
The Group has built on its successful racing expertise and diversified to include a global, high-performance sports car business, McLaren Automotive, and a game-changing technology and innovation business, McLaren Applied.
Despite the broadening of the group’s business interests, McLaren’s goal remains singular: we exist to win in everything we do.