McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown counts racing legends like Mario Andretti and Ayrton Senna as his on-track heroes, but off-track, the racing executive has an unconventional business role model.
In an episode of Fortune’s Leadership Next podcast released this week, Brown said rock legend and Kiss bassist Gene Simmons gave him useful business advice.
“People that don’t know him might have a certain image of him, but you know he’s literally a rock star, so there is that, ‘I gotta kinda be a rock star’ [vibe], but he’s an unbelievable business person,” Brown said. “One of the things he said to me was never show up late to a meeting, so if you have a meeting with him, he’s always 5 minutes early. He speaks seven different languages. He is very intelligent. He knows exactly what he’s doing.”
Brown, who oversees McLaren’s Formula 1 and IndyCar teams, is wrapping up a banner year. Last month, the papaya-clad F1 team won the sport’s Constructor’s Championship, marking the first time the outfit has won back-to-back team championships since 1991. Brown’s two F1 drivers are in a dead heat fighting for the Driver’s Championship, with only three races to go this season. McLaren’s 61-year-old F1 team is now valued at $5 billion, which, as of September, is a record valuation for an F1 team.
