Ron Dennis

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Ronald Dennis CBE (born 1 June 1947) is a British businessman and Official British Business Ambassador for the United Kingdom.

Dennis is the Global Consultant for Minsheng Investment Corporation and the former owner of Absolute Taste.

He is best known for his time as the CEO, chairman, and founder of McLaren Technology Group.

Dennis was fired from his McLaren management role in 2016, but he remained a director of the company and a 25% shareholder until June 2017, when his 37-year involvement with the firm came to an end. Dennis was the team principal of the McLaren Formula One team from 1981 to 2009, and he was instrumental in the company's transformation into a regular world championship contender.

With Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Häkkinen, and Lewis Hamilton, constructors' and pilot world championships were won. Dennis left half of his 30 percent interest in the McLaren Group to the Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company in January 2007, leaving him with a 15% interest.

Dennis purchased back Daimler AG's 41% interest in a 2011 merger that was concluded by the company's co-owners Mansour Ojjeh's TAG Group and the Bahraini Mumtalakat Holding Company in 2009.

Early life

Dennis was born and raised in Woking, England, and studied automotive engineering at Guildford Technical College. He first started working with the Cooper Formula One team in 1966 as a mechanic, where he worked alongside lead driver Jochen Rindt at the age of 18. Rindt and Dennis were both born in Brabham in 1968 and together with them. Dennis stayed on for the 1969 season, but opted instead to work for Sir Jack Brabham.

Dennis and his colleague Neil Trundle decided to start their own team when Brabham resigned in 1971. Rondel Racing was established in Dennis' native Woking in 1971. However, money was at a premium, and Dennis was looking for sponsorship. Rondel was commissioned by Ron's then mother, who was the niece of John Phelps, the owner of Phelps Antique Furniture in Twickenham, to be one of the company's regular clients. Vlassopulos asked Ken Grob, chairman of Alexander Howden, London, if he was interested in joining them. Grob said yes on the stipulation that his teenage son Ian Grob be enrolled in the team, which was accepted. Vlassopulos became Dennis' first sponsor from the start.

The team was having a lot of success in Formula Two by the mid-1970s. Rondel wanted to be more than a customer team, but Dennis and Grob and Vlassopulos in Motul soon managed to find an additional backer to finance a Rondel F1 car. A Ray Jessop-designed F1 car was built for 1974, but Motul's support was harmed by the energy crisis. Dennis was unable to obtain sufficient funds to finance the F1 race, so Trundle and the Jessop-designed vehicle were kept running while Vlassopulos and Grob took over the team's ownership, renamed Token Racing.

Dennis regrouped, forming a Marlboro-backed F2 team for two highly paid and well-funded Ecuadorians. Dennis founded the Project Three team in 1975, and his cars have since been crowned. Dennis made Project Four Racing, a 1976 Dennis Founder. This team had great success in Formula 2 and Formula 3, winning championships in 1979 and 1980 with Philip Morris (Marlboro) backing. Project Four was also involved in the Procar BMW M1 racing car development program. Dennis aspired to return to Formula One as his company's demands increased and profitable, employing talented artist John Barnard to lead the design and production of an exciting new Formula One car.

Dennis' return to Formula One was well-timed. John Hogan, the former world championship winner's, had prompted Philip Morris executive John Hogan to order a takeover of the company by Dennis' Project Four. With Dennis in charge, the team was rebranded as McLaren International, effectively a takeover. Dennis successfully recruited Barnard to start building the cars' engines from 1984-87, in addition to recruiting Barnard to start work on the team's latest carbon fiber composite chassis.

The 'MP4' designation appeared on the Marlboro Project Four early in the construction (the MP4/1 scheme was complete prior to the merger). Following the change of name sponsor in 1997, the same abbreviation was retained, with the 'M' now representing McLaren. Following Dennis' departure, the numbering scheme was retained until 2017 when it was replaced with 'MCL'.

Personal life

Dennis announced his separation and divorce from his wife of 22 years, Lisa, with whom he has three children, on February 15th.

Dennis was barred from driving for six months after accumulating points in March 2011.

He is a Conservative Party donor. The Conservative Party received £126,200 in donations from Ron Dennis between the 22 April 2005 and the 2011 election. Dennis was a signatory to a letter sent by The Daily Telegraph congratulating the party's economic policies and saying that "a change in direction will jeopardize jobs and discourage investment."

Source

Awards and honours

• 1996 De Montfort University Honorary Doctorate
• 1997 City University London Honorary Doctorate
• 2000 Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for services to motorsport.
• 2000 University of Surrey Honorary Doctorate
• 2001 British Racing Drivers' Club Gold Medal
• 2007 British Racing Drivers' Club Colin Chapman Trophy.
• 2008 British Racing Drivers' Club Gold Medal
• 2008 Royal Academy of Engineering Prince Philip Medal
• 2017 American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award