Nick Fry has played a key role in one the most remarkable success stories in motorsport history when, together with Ross Brawn, he bought the Honda Formula One team for £1 in a management buyout. Against all odds, they then won the 2009 drivers’ and constructors’ world championships under the Brawn GP banner with Jenson Button at the wheel. As an expert in his field, Nick is now attending speaking events and is known for his insightful anecdotes and humor whilst in front of an audience.
Prior to F1, Nick worked for Ford in Sales, Marketing, Product Development, Manufacturing, and as Managing Director of Aston Martin where he was responsible for the DB7 model, the first Aston Martin to sell in higher volumes. Moving to Prodrive, a company providing engineering services to the motor industry, as CEO he was responsible for the Subaru World Rally Team and for developing the legendary Ford Focus RS. In 2001, Nick moved to F1 and worked for British American Racing and then Honda prior to Brawn and Mercedes, all as CEO.
Nick's first involvement in Formula One came in 2002 when he was appointed Managing Director of BAR F1. After buying the Honda Formula One team for £1 in a management buyout, 2006 saw Nick achieve his first Grand Prix as Managing Director. Jenson Button won the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix, one of the most memorable moments throughout his career. Becoming the CEO of Mercedes F1, Nick enjoyed a hugely successful period at the company and was responsible for leading the Mercedes team to their first-ever F1 and World Championship.
In October 2021, Nick was appointed as Non-Executive Chairman at McLaren Applied, a position that allowed him to market a strengthening of the company’s leadership and governance. Aside from his motorsport career, Nick Fry showcases his charisma and humour in the popular docuseries 'Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story' which was released in 2023. At events, he often discusses topics such as strategic leadership, hiring, and building world-class teams, whilst also sharing many stories and anecdotes from his F1 career.
Learn about Fry's favourite track and his top tips for breaking into Formula 1, in our exclusive interview with the motorsports legend.
Books
Survive. Drive. Win. The Inside Story Of Brawn GP And Jenson Button's Incredible F1 Championship Win
How to hire Nick Fry
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Nick Fry for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do not accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
When he's at corporate events, Nick Fry is known to cover the following topics:
Innovation
Without 15%+ performance improvement annually a F1 team slips down the grid. Nick explores how to generate a culture of continuous improvement, fast problem resolution and how great ideas can come from anywhere in an organisation. Managing the best people and instilling a culture where boundaries of technology and process are tested whilst also reacting appropriately and with a developed containment actions when inevitably something does not go to plan.
Managing Change
F1 teams are masters of speed on and off the track. Nick discusses how to manage change of circumstance, technological, cultural and organisational change emphasising the role of leadership, clear objectives, effective delegation and communication. His wide experience in mainstream car companies, early stage organisations as well as in F1 allows him to relate to the challenges faced by all organisations and propose practical solutions to management teams.
Inside Formula One
Nick draws on his own stellar career in the sport and gives an accessible explanation of how an F1 team operates and how the top teams are consistently successful. He then explains how those practices can be utilised in any business, regardless of sector. This provides a fresh perspective and new ideas to invigorate any company meeting or client conference.
Other topics Nick covers:
- Strategic Leadership
- Brand Marketing
- Environmental Technology & Sustainability
- Change Management
- Building High Performance Teams
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events
Feedback from In-Person Events:
"He's fantastic- it's a really interesting story, and we loved the 'behind the scenes' feel. He also went above and beyond to tailor some of the talking points to align to our own value props- so all in all... a great session" - Leslie
"Nick was one of the highlights of our event. He was engaging, interesting, and incredibly relevant. He kept in mind our Summit theme which really tied things together for our audience! He also is a delightful human. He was so kind upon arriving, he was willing to even answer some audience questions after he got off stage. People are even sharing some of the things they learned from his session in meetings. It couldn’t have been any better. We’re so pleased with his portion of the programming that I wish we had had more time for his segment." - Meta
- 2023 - Appeared in the 'Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story' Docuseries
- 2021 - Non-Executive Chairman of McLaren Applied
- 2019 - Author of Survive. Drive. Win.
- 2018 - Head of Commercial Strategy at Fnatic
- 2009 - CEO of Mercedes F1 (which was previously Brawn GP)
- 2002 - Managing Director of BAR F1
- 1995 - Director of Service Engineering within the Customer Service Division at Ford
- Recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from Cranfield University
