Christian Horner has spoken of his excitement after accepting his first major job since his exit from F1 last summer.
Shockwaves went through the sport last July when the 52-year-old Englishman was sacked from his role as team principal at Red Bull. He had overseen two decades of glorious success with 14 world titles (eight Drivers’ and six Constructors’).
Now Horner is returning to work just under a year later, but as yet not in F1. Instead he is taking on a role as an advisor for London-based private equity house Oakley Capital.
The fund, run by serial entrepreneur Peter Dubens, is looking to increase its sports portfolio and sees Horner as the perfect weapon to do so.
Christian Horner statement on new job
Horner himself is clearly excited to put his skills to the test in a very different environment to the F1 paddock.
“Sports businesses are benefitting from growing global audiences and participation rates as more people embrace healthier, active lifestyles,” he said in an official statement announcing his new role.
“I have known and respected Peter and the Oakley team for many years and have always admired their approach to building ambitious, founder-led businesses.
“Oakley Capital has established a strong reputation across the sports and consumer landscape and I look forward to working together in the future and sharing my experience to help support the next generation of standout sports businesses.”
Horner to unlock new investment opportunities
Oakley’s existing investments in the sports sector include Athena Racing (now GB1) the ‘Challenger of Record’ for the 38th America’s Cup sailing competition and Dubens is clearly looking to do more in the space, with Horner unlocking those new opportunities.
“Christian Horner is widely recognised as a highly successful leader in global sport. His track record, expertise and commercial instinct will be invaluable as we continue to scale our sports portfolio,” he explained.
“We are increasingly drawn to businesses in this space that share the hallmarks of a typical Oakley investment: founder-led, high-growth and supported by resilient revenues, or under-commercialised ‘scarce’ assets with significant untapped potential.
“We look forward to working with Christian in order to unlock these opportunities.”
When will Horner return to F1?
While Horner is not yet back in F1, he has been linked with a number of potential landing spots.
He has reportedly been part of a group looking to purchase a 24 percent stake in Alpine, and is also reported to have held talks with Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll about a role there.
In recent weeks Horner has also been strongly linked with the move by Chinese automotive giant BYD to form a 12th team on the F1 grid in the future.
