McLaren Group Head Ron Dennis said that he was "categorically" not stepping down after a report on Wednesday suggested he would be leaving his role as chair and CEO at the end of the year, according to Alan Baldwin of REUTERS. The autosport.com website reported Dennis, 69, would "not have his current contract renewed when it expired." It gave no source for the information but added that McLaren Automotive, the separately-constituted road car division, "was not affected by any change of leadership at McLaren Technology Group." A McLaren spokesperson said, "Ron Dennis responded by stating categorically that he is not stepping down. Moreover, he remains contracted as chairman and chief executive officer of McLaren Technology Group and he retains a 25 percent shareholding -- exactly equal to that of (Saudi-born Luxembourg-based business partner) Mansour Ojjeh" (REUTERS, 10/19). In London, Daniel Johnson reported Dennis "faces a fight to retain control of McLaren amid a bitter boardroom row with the company’s fellow shareholders, who appear set to try and unseat the team’s chairman after nearly four decades at the top." He has "fallen out badly with McLaren's other owners, particularly his long-time business partner, Mansour Ojjeh." After nearly three years "desperately trying to find the backing" to buy out Ojjeh and Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund -- which owns 50% -- Dennis has "not been able to raise the money." Talks with Chinese investors, as well as tech firm Apple, "have stalled." It is thought that the Bahrainis and Ojjeh will therefore "not renew Dennis’s contract when it expires at the end of the year." Dennis would "still own quarter of the company" but would no longer be CEO (TELEGRAPH, 10/19).
