MARCH 17, 1997
McNally to be CEO of Formula One PLC
PADDY McNALLY is likely to become the chief executive of Formula One plc if the company which controls most of Grand Prix racing's commercial business is floated on the London stock market this summer - as is being suggested.
The 59-year-old Englishman has been involved in Grand Prix racing since the early 1970s when he worked as a journalist reporting on F1. He eventually settled in Switzerland and, after trying his hand at driver management and consultancy, became involved in the corporate entertainment business in F1, which ultimately became the Formula 1 Paddock Club - a high-quality hospitality facility which F1 sponsors use to entertain their VIP guests at each Grands Prix. This was a huge success with sponsors paying more than $1000 a weekend for each VIP.
McNally's Allsport Management company, which is based in Geneva, has since taken over the selling of all F1 trackside advertising, the licensing of merchandising companies and other trackside promotional activities. These different businesses, all developed in close association with Ecclestone, have made McNally a multimillionaire, although he has always maintained a very low profile within the Grand Prix world.
He is probably best-known to the general public because of his regular appearances in the European gossip columns thanks to a close association with Sarah Ferguson, Britain's controversial Duchess of York.
If the flotation of Formula One does go ahead, it is likely that 66-year-old Ecclestone will be the chairman of the company with McNally acting as his chief executive.