Who is Zak Brown?

FB

Not my cup of cake
Valued Member
Some of you might have read that Zak Brown is being touted as a potential succesor to one B Ecclestone esq. So who is this potential new Bernie?

Like BE, ZB is a driver who, although having some success, never made it right to the top. He has a company called Just Marketing International who specialise in Motorsports marketing and put themselves foward as "Industry insiders and experts at our craft" http://www.justmarketing.com/. Brown set up the company when it became clear his career wasn't going to reach the heights he hoped and it appears he has been pretty succesful. They employ 140 people worldwide and manage $300 million in motorsports investments (sponsorship to you and me).

Looking at their website they seem very focused on North America, both in terms client base and the series they deal with, although many of their clients are global companies (Cosworth, Continental, Johnnie Walker as examples). Not sure if this is a good or bad thing.

Brown is just 39 and recently took part in the Daytona 24 hours recently with the Brundell brothers so appears to still harbour ambitions of being a racing driver. It will be interesting to see if he is the future at FOM.

Article from the Independent on ZB if you want some more light reading

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/jan/29/zak-brown-formula-one
 
Seems like the right sort of bloke for the job, however I am concerned about his almost exclusively American background, or this more Bernie plans to help break into the US market :rolleyes:
 
So who is.Who will take over from Bernie.
Love him or hate him you have to admit that he took F1 from a minority sport with very limited TV coverge into the huge global sport that it is today.
I can clearly remember that when the BBC showed F1 in 60's they showed the start and first five laps then cut away to some old matinee film "ie Cat on a hot tin roof" or some other junk and only returned for the last five laps and finish.
Bernie changed all that.He made FI into the single biggest TV sport on the planet.He turned F1 into a true world championship as oppossed to an essentially European sport.
In doing this he inevitably took F1 away from its European heartland and turned F1 into a money making business rather than a true sport.
I am no great lover of Bernie, but I do have a great respect for his business acumen.Bernie managed to become a prominent figure in FOCA due to his ownership of the Brabham F1 team and acheived further prominece in the FISA FOCA war and eventually Max Mosely granted his FOM company the commercial rights to F1 for fifteen years to satisfy a directve from the European Commission that the FIA could not have a monopoly on the rules and commercial rights of F1
From then onwards Bernie set out in earnest to build his empire, which he sold to CVC and by some ingenious means still kept control.Phew, I didn't start out intending to write a history post.
To get back to the point, who is the right person to take over F1 in its present form.I don't think that anyone currently involved in F1 is capable.I also can't see anyone from UK manufacturers being the right man for he job.Someone is sure to say Dave Richards I expect.I don't think so.The job will go to someone from the marketing world involved with motor sport.
Persons like Zak Brown are almost certainly the type who will take over the reins.
I was a great supporter of the "breakaway series" as I felt that this would bring F1 back closer to its European heartland.
That didn't happen so its very unlikely to happen in the future.F1 today is a vast money making business for CVC and FOM.
F1 has comepletely lost its sense of values.From the insane levels of sanctioning feess, drivers salaries, the huge cost of developing the cars, the list is endless.
But still there are queues of countries camped on Bernies doorstep clamouring for an F1 GP of their own.
Here endeth the lesson.Amen.
disappointed.gif
 
Undoubtedly Bernie knows a lot about F1 the business and has been extremely successful, but he knows nothing about F1 the sport, or its fans.
 
Undoubtedly Bernie knows a lot about F1 the business and has been extremely successful, but he knows nothing about F1 the sport, or its fans.

That is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
The bit that I don't like is that he simply doesn't care.All he is interested in making money out of it., and the power that it gives him.
 
Bernie changed all that.He made FI into the single biggest TV sport on the planet.

I'd have to put my pedant hat back on and say that football/soccer is probably more watched than F1 but cannot argue with the rest of the points you raise.
 
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