Advisory & Management Board

A Support Network that Makes a Difference

The success of Global Racing Group’s driver development programs is driven by a team of industry experts that has been assembled to provide the right kind of support at exactly the right time. The 12-strong advisory and management board has decades of experience in professional competition, engineering, entertainment, marketing and communications. And with an extensive network of motorsport executive and Fortune 2000 company contacts that can be called upon to support the board and Global Racing Group’s activities, our drivers are the ones that benefit directly.

Martin Reiss

Martin has worked in sports marketing since 1980, the year he started his own PR and marketing agency in Zurich, Switzerland. He has represented companies that include Philip Morris, Nestle, Mercedes, Audi, Bausch & Lomb, Timberland, Brother, T-Mobile, Benzina, Trina Solar, Boss, UBS and IMG. He has brought a number of new partners into Formula One and remains engaged in the sport, currently overlooking business development at McLaren Technology Group and running a sports marketing agency, Allsport-Promotion, that is based in Vienna, Austria. Martin has successfully managed sports personalities in Formula One, tennis and skiing. He has also organized many high-profile sporting events, including the Kremlin Cup, the first-ever professional tennis tournament in Russia, the Bobsleigh World Cup in St. Moritz, and various tennis exhibitions in Zurich, Luzern and Prague. Martin is also the former co-owner of Slavia Prague Football Club.

Roberto Perrina

Roberto is a partner in Automobili Italiane Inc. which controls Ferrari and Maserati of Seattle along with various real estate holdings and other automotive ventures. His official title is Director of Sales and Marketing and his duties include overseeing the running of the only World Champion Ferrari Dealership in North and South America as well as Scuderia Ferrari of Seattle which supports a team of nine Ferrari Challenge race cars for clients based in the greater Seattle area. His career started in 1992 when his family acquired the local Alfa Romeo franchise, but his love of motorsport and driving goes back to childhood and working on Italian cars with his father and brothers. He holds a bachelor degree in International Studies from the University of Washington and together with his wife Neda is the father of two children. When not immersed in growing his business he enjoys karting, soccer, and spending time with his family.

Steve Rimmer

Steve is Chief Executive Officer at Altavair LLC. He has been involved in the commercial aviation industry including worldwide aircraft and engine trading activities for 35 years. He co-founded Altavair LLC in 2003 and is responsible for its overall strategy and management. Prior to co-founding Altavair LLC, Steve founded XS Aviation Ltd – a commercial aircraft investment management and advisory company in 2000. Before XS, he co-founded Curtis & Company, a boutique aviation lease and finance arranging company, where he remained a principal in charge of its London office from 1991 to 1999. During this same time, Steve founded Curtis Power Company, an early commercial engine leasing company, which he later sold to General Electric in 2001. At its height, Curtis Power Company managed and leased more that 90 engines to airlines across the world. Steve has held senior management positions with several prominent firms in the commercial aviation industry, including Security Pacific Chief Executive Officer.

Andrew D. Norman

Andrew D. Norman is Founder, Managing Director and Financial Advisor in a practice affiliated with a major national financial services firm, and has been in the Financial Services industry since 1997. In that time he has helped individuals, families, businesses, endowments, and foundations develop investment and financial plans to support their personal and professional needs. Mr. Norman has completed extensive study in the field of behavioral economics at the London School of Economics in London, England and the Yale School of Management in CT, USA. He is currently continuing his economics studies at Harvard University. Professionally, Mr. Norman is actively engaged in the facilitation of full-service financial planning and wealth management. Returning to full time personal practice in May of 2017, Mr. Norman now dedicates his full attention to estate planning, asset management, and risk management strategies that capitalize on current market and regulatory environments. Previously Mr. Norman served as Managing Director and Co-Founder of one of Voya Financials fastest growing retail distribution units. At the time of Mr. Normans exit (May 2017) as a partner and shareholder the firm was a perennial leader in annual sales with annual sales in excess of 18MM, 100 advisors and staff, and assets under management/supervision of 1.7 billion.

Don Kitch Jr.

Don has been involved in motorsport for more than 25 years and is well known in the automotive industry. A veteran of more than 200 professional and amateur racing starts, ‘Kitch’ has been involved in every aspect of the ‘driving industry’. In 1987, he founded the ProFormance Racing School with his wife Donna where he is the Chief Instructor. In 1997 ‘Kitch’ founded Team Seattle. The campaign focuses on the 24 Hours of Daytona Sports Car race as a fundraiser for the Children’s Hospital of Seattle. “Ever since my first experience at the Rolex 24 in 1990, I dreamed about fielding an all-Seattle team” he says. “During the last 18 years, we’ve done just that, bringing back nearly $5.3 million for Seattle Children’s Hospital.” In 2009, ‘Kitch’ teamed up with Dempsey Racing, (Patrick Dempsey of Gray’s Anatomy fame) and teammate, Joe Foster in a Ferrari 430 GT2 race car at the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans. The team finished in an impressive 9th place in class and raised an additional $200,000 towards the Team Seattle Cardiac Intensive Care Unit located at Seattle Children’s hospital.

Romain Grosjean

In four full seasons of Formula One competition, Romain Grosjean has continued to showcase the speed and consistency that was a hallmark of his highly-decorated junior career. Collecting championships and numerous race wins as he ascended Europe’s ultra-competitive open wheel racing ladder, Romain’s talents have continued to impress with the Frenchman joining the Haas F1 Team in 2016. Having competed in Formula One as a full-time driver since 2012 with Lotus F1 Team, Romain has scored 10 podiums, twice finishing a career-best second – at the 2012 Canadian Grand Prix and the 2013 United States Grand Prix. Read more at: http://www.romaingrosjean.com/en/biography/

Christian Pedersen

Christian is President, CEO and founder of Global Racing Group. With a background in the technology industry having founded, taken business public and sold to Microsoft Corporation, Christian has an impressive background in business and marketing. For the past five years, he has been globally responsible for one of Microsoft’s core product lines and has leveraged motorsport and Formula One to maximise exposure and brand building. As the architect and driver of a Microsoft global advertising campaign leveraging F1, Christian drove one of the most successful commercial ad campaigns in the history of Microsoft. Christian continues to set and drive the vision, mission and direction for Global Racing Group, in close collaboration with the Advisory Board.

Mark Weida

Mark is Global Racing Group’s Chief Engineer and began his professional racing career in 1978. He has worked for racing legends like Dan Gurney, Frank Arciero, John Menard and Dick Simon, as well as drivers that include Sarah Fisher, Robby Gordon, Robbie Buhl, Roberto Moreno, Robbie Pecorari, Pedro Chaves, Airton Dare, Arie Luyendyk, Mike Groff, Fabrizio Barbazza, Felipe Giaffone, Vincenzo Sospiri, Wally Dallenbach Jr. In 2014 he was Race Engineer for Lawson Aschenbach in the Pirelli World Challenge and was Chief Mechanic for Sage Karam in the 2014 Indy 500, finishing in 9th place. Mark has engineered drivers to three Indy Lights titles (1986-Barbazza, 1989-Groff, 1992-Buhl) and three World Challenge GTS titles (2013-2014 Aschenbach, 2015 Michael Cooper). Mark was Chief Engineer for rookie Robbie Pecorari in Indy Lights during 2007 and guided him to victory at Nashville Super Speedway. As a Chief Mechanic at the 1997 Indy 500, Mark won the Snap-On Top Wrench Award and the prestigious Clint Brawner Award for Mechanical Excellence after engineering rookie Vincenzo Sospiri to a qualifying slot on the front row of the grid next to Tony Stewart and Arie Luyendyk. As well as winning six championships, Mark was Race Engineer for Sarah Fisher when she became the first woman to secure pole position for an Indy Car race at Kentucky in 2002.