Paddy McNally
Born
Patrick Sean McNally

(1937-12-20) 20 December 1937
Gravesend, Kent, England
NationalityBritish
Occupations
  • Businessman
  • journalist
  • racing driver
Years active1963–2011
Spouse
Anne Downing
​
​
(m. 1967; died 1980)​
PartnerSarah, Duchess of York (1982–1986)
Children2

Patrick Sean McNally (born 20 December 1937) is a British businessman. He was the founder and chief executive of Allsport Management S.A., a Swiss-based company which controlled Formula One advertising and hospitality for the Paddock Club.

Early life

McNally was born on 20 December 1937[1] in Gravesend. He was the son of Group Captain Patrick McNally, a Royal Air Force medical officer from County Monaghan,[2] and his wife Mary Deane (née Outred).[3]

McNally was educated at Stonyhurst College,[4] then abandoned training as an accountant to sell vacuum cleaners on hire purchase and also traded bric-à-brac on the Portobello Road.[5]

Career

Beginning his career as a motorsports journalist for Autosport magazine,[5][6] McNally was also involved in sports car races in the 1960s. In the early 1970s, McNally worked as a sponsorship consultant for Philip Morris's Marlboro based in Switzerland.[6] Later, he was a driver manager of Niki Lauda and James Hunt, respectively.[7][8]

McNally began working with Bernie Ecclestone in the late 1970s.[6] In 1983, he founded Allsport Management S.A., a Swiss company which provided corporate hospitality and trackside advertising for Formula One events.[9] Based in Geneva, Allsport owned the trackside advertising rights at Formula One circuits, essentially involved in advertising management. McNally also operated the Formula One Paddock Club, the Grand Prix hospitality provider which he established in 1984.[10]

In March 2006, McNally sold Allsport Management to CVC for £300 million.[11] In April 2011, he announced his retirement from the Formula One circuit. Ecclestone stated that "McNally thinks someone younger should takeover... he is one of the founding fathers of the modern grand prix set-up".[12][13]

Personal life

McNally dated Sarah Ferguson from 1982 to 1985.[14][15][16][17] The pair remain close friends.[18] He was formerly married to the daughter of Ken Downing and has two sons.[2][18]

McNally has homes in the Côte d'Azur and Switzerland, notably chalets in Verbier locally referred to as "the Castle".[19][20][21] He also owns Warneford Place, Wiltshire, the former home of Ian Fleming. In 2004, the property was burgled.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "Patrick McNally | BRDC Members | British Racing Drivers' Club". www.brdc.co.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 Seward, Ingrid (1991). Sarah, HRH the Duchess of York: A Biography. HarperCollins. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-00-215188-7.
  3. ↑ People of Today. Debrett's Peerage Limited. 2002. p. 1286. ISBN 978-1-870520-21-8.
  4. ↑ McNally, Peter (2013). The Time of My Life. Memoirs. p. 1. ISBN 978-1909544550.
  5. 1 2 Bower, Tom (2011). No Angel: The Secret Life of Bernie Ecclestone. Internet Archive. London : Faber & Faber. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-571-26929-7.
  6. 1 2 3 "Paddy McNally". www.grandprix.com. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  7. ↑ "Ireland's Rich List: 41-50". Independent.ie. 31 March 2010.
  8. ↑ Rubython, Tom (2010). Shunt: The Story of James Hunt. Myrtle Press. pp. 476–477. ISBN 978-0956565600. McNally looked after him at races for Marlboro in 1977 and 1978
  9. ↑ "Paddy McNally". Irish Independent. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  10. ↑ "McNally to be CEO of Formula One PLC". www.grandprix.com. 17 March 1997.
  11. ↑ "Rights holders CVC buy further into Formula One". Times of Malta. 2 April 2006. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  12. ↑ "Ecclestone confirms McNally set to retire". Nextgen-Auto.com. 11 April 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  13. ↑ "The band of brothers who made Formula One". BusinessF1 Magazine. September 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  14. ↑ Warwick, Christopher; Garner, Valerie (1986). Their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of York. Sidgwick & Jackson. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-283-99386-2.
  15. ↑ DeYoung, Karen (1986). "Fergie: Bedlam Over the Bride". The Washington Post.
  16. ↑ Hodgkin, Emily (17 August 2018). "Sarah Ferguson dated this man before she married Andrew". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  17. ↑ Cochrane, Kira (24 May 2010). "Why I feel sorry for Sarah Ferguson". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  18. 1 2 Kretschmer, Anna (11 October 2019). "Why Sarah Ferguson feared Prince Andrew would 'write her off'". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  19. ↑ "The Beginnings of a Royal Catfight? Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson's Fraught Relationship". Vanity Fair. 21 August 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  20. ↑ "'Sloane Square on the Slopes': The enduring British love affair with Verbier". The Gentleman's Journal. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  21. ↑ "Jamie Blandford: Dodging the ghosts of Cocaine Castle". The Sunday Times. 3 July 2023. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  22. ↑ "Daring raid on tycoon's home". Wiltshire Gazette & Herald. 22 June 2004. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
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