American Zak Brown on Monday officially accepted the position of exec director at McLaren Technology Group, ending months of speculations about his future. Brown's appointment comes only days after McLaren Group CEO Ron Dennis, whom Brown said recruited him, was forced out by fellow shareholders. "I’ve known Ron Dennis for a long time, we’ve done a lot of deals together, and he had been recruiting me for some time," Brown told SBD Global. "Once I announced my resignation [as Group CEO of CSM Sport & Entertainment], he stepped up the recruiting process. I had conversations with other entities, but it was really a function of what McLaren was offering me and the opportunity. I think it’s a great time to join the team." Dennis's departure had no impact on Brown's decision to join McLaren.
"Life goes on at McLaren," he said, adding that Dennis still holds a 25%
stake in the company. Bahrain's Mumtalakat sovereign investment fund
and Saudi-born French businessman Mansour Ojjeh are the other
shareholders in the team, with stakes of 50% and 25%, respectively. The founder of Just Marketing Int'l, which was later acquired by CSM, will start his new position at the British F1 team on a yet-to-be-finalized date next month, with a clear set of priorities. "Being competitive is the priority on the track, obviously, and then off the track we have to find a title partner in addition to other partners," Brown said. "We have a lot of premium partners, but clearly there is a lot of space left on the car, most notably on the side pods, that needs to be the commercial priority. Those are the two priorities." McLaren has not had a title sponsor since mobile phone provider Vodafone left the team at the end of the '13 season. The 45-year-old will work together with McLaren COO Jonathan Neale to jointly lead the group's business operations. Both will report directly to McLaren's exec committee. Brown did not comment on whether he received an official offer from F1 owners Liberty Media. The team said in a statement that its search for a new group CEO continues.
