Ron Dennis Forced Out at McLaren

Ron Dennis, the longtime leader of British supercar maker McLaren Technology Group has been forced out as chairman and CEO of the company and its foundering Formula One racing team.

Dennis, 69, has been part of McLaren since he acquired the company in 1980 and led it to F1 constructors and driver championships four years later. McLaren’s F1 team has won 17 championships with such drivers as Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Mika Hakkinen and Lewis Hamilton. The company also makes ultra-high-performance two-seat passenger cars.

McLaren Technology’s three owners are Dennis (25%), Saudi business tycoon Mansour Ojjeh (25%) and Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat Holding Co. Ojjeh is the former CEO of watchmaker TAG Heuer and a major shareholder in TAG Group SA.

Dennis says he was removed by McLaren’s other two owners after a year-long fight for “entirely spurious” complains about his management style. He insists his style hasn’t changed and declares that the company’s other two owners don’t “share my vision for McLaren and its true growth potential.”

Dennis began his career at age 18 as a mechanic with the U.K.’s Cooper Formula One team in 1966. He has been involved in racing ever since.