WHAT HAPPENED TO RON DENNIS? LIFE AFTER MCLAREN FOR THE MASTERMIND

For just under three decades, the McLaren Formula 1 team was synonymous with Ron Dennis. Under his tutelage, the historic team swept up seven World Constructors’ Championships and changed the name of the racing game.

But when Dennis stepped back from the team, a stunning era had truly come to an end. So, what’s Ron Dennis up to today?

Ron Dennis: Life after McLaren

When it comes to team principals, Ron Dennis was one of the most influential in Formula 1 history.

At the end of the 1980 season, the hard-charging young entrepreneur had worked his way up the ranks, starting off as a mechanic for the Cooper F1 team before going on to found his own Formula Two team called Project Four — an outfit heavily sponsored by Marlboro.

When it became clear that McLaren was struggling under the leadership of Teddy Mayer and Gordon Coppuck, and Dennis was soon able to take over the legendary outfit just in time to change the scope of motorsport history with legends like Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen, and Lewis Hamilton. Under his tenure, the team became a dominant force thanks to its prioritisation of cutting-edge technology.

Countless World Championships later, and Dennis’ role in the team had begun to wane. When he turned 70, he decided that it was a good time to step away from his involvement with the team, handing the reins instead to Zak Brown after selling his shares.

But what has Dennis gotten up to since then? And what is he working on now?

More on Ron Dennis:

👉 Ron Dennis opens up on ‘significant disagreements’ as shock McLaren exit explained

👉 Lewis Hamilton feared losing Ron Dennis’ backing in early McLaren years

As you might imagine from a businessman, many of Ron Dennis’ post-McLaren endeavors have been related to founding and running other businesses.

In 2009, when he stepped down from actively running the team, he did continue on with the McLaren Group as a chairman, where he helped develop luxury sports cars for the consumer market, including the 650S, 675LT, 570S, and 540C. Meanwhile, Dennis helped negotiate a supply agreement with Honda regarding power units.

In November of 2016, Dennis stepped down from the McLaren Group, retaining a 25% share in the company until, the following year, he sold his share and resigned.

Dennis was formerly one of six British businessmen to be an official British Business Ambassador for advanced engineering and manufacturing; in that role, he assisted in advising the United Kingdom on various investment and business opportunities in the engineering and manufacturing world. That program was shuttered on 3 January, 2019.

 

In 1999, he founded the company Absolute Taste, a catering company in the United Kingdom. The company was acquired by One Event Management in late 2016, but it still services events like Goodwood and venues like Silverstone.

In 2001, Dennis became a co-chair of the trustee board for Tommy’s, a charity designed to assist families experiencing pregnancy loss and to helping pregnant people find support and care during all stages of the process. After 15 years, in 2016, Dennis became a Patron for the charity.

Dennis served as a Global Consultant for China Minsheng Investment Group, the biggest state-owned private investment in China.

Between 2017 and 2019, he was a co-chair of the Defence-wide Information Assurance Program at the Ministry of Defence; in that capacity, he advised on policies designed to combat global security issues and cyber threats.

When the COVID-19 pandemic swept through the world, Dennis fought back by founding the Salute the NHS campaign, a charity whose goal was to feed and care for frontline healthcare workers battling against the virus; it was an outreach of his larger charity, Dreamchasing.

Most recently, Dennis served as a non-executive director for the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology in the UK, which was established in 2023 by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. He departed that role in April of 2024.

He’s also the founder and chairman of Podium Analytics, a charity that is designed to reduce injury in sport. It funds research on the various kinds of health concerns that might impact an athlete; in early 2025, it funded research to scan the brains of young athletes who had suffered traumatic brain injuries.

In the 2024 New Year Honours, Dennis was appointed Knight Bachelor.

At 77 years of age, Dennis has shown no signs of slowing down, instead wielding his resources to continue his charity work and business investment.

Read next: How Fernando Alonso wound-up Ron Dennis…with a giant peach

2025-01-15T09:36:02Z