Catching up with Michael Brown
Michael Brown has had a long love affair with cars and that’s a good thing. The family of the 1987 Huntington High School graduate owned a local Jaguar dealership on Jericho Turnpike and he eventually worked there. Today he’s an executive with one of America’s premier auto group companies.
Mr. Brown said he worked his way up the ladder in the family business, starting as a sales consultant at Sportique Motors in 1993 and becoming president in 1998 when the business was sold to a Japanese company. “I stayed on until I was recruited by United Auto Group (a Penske Corporation) to run four dealerships in Fairfield, Connecticut,” he said.
After two years on the job in Fairfield, he was promoted by Penske to run a group of 14 dealerships in Rhode Island, where he stayed for four years until his wife, Renee, gave birth to twin girls, Olivia and Leanna, who are now 2 ½ years old.
Following the birth of his children, Mr. Brown and his wife “decided we needed to be closer to family,” he said. “All of my wife’s family is in Staten Island. We were lucky to find a position available that I now occupy. I am vice-president of operations for Atlantic Auto Group. We have 16 dealerships that we operate on Long Island. We generate over $1 billion in annual revenue. I currently have over 1,500 employees.”
Mr. Brown’s company represents Lexus, Audi, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, and Nissan. His work is challenging in the current economic climate and he’s putting his extensive experience and education to good use.
During his years at Huntington High School, Mr. Brown played football and ran track. He was all-conference in the 400m hurdles and all-county in the 4 x 100m relay. “I had a great track coach in Dennis Walker,” he recalled recently. “We won the conference championship my senior year.”
Mr. Brown was a receiver and defensive back on the Blue Devil football team as a junior and senior and he bonded with gridiron coach John Paci, Jr. “We had an excellent team my senior year, but we underperformed, losing in the first round of the playoffs,” he said. “If I have one regret it’s that I wish I had started earlier.”
Mr. Brown’s favorite teacher was Dr. Robert Leonard of the English department. “His passing was a huge loss for Huntington High School,” he said. “He definitely opened my eyes to being more creative in applying myself. I spent free time helping students in the learning center using Dr. Leonard’s writing practices.”
Now retired math teacher Judy Gleicher, was another favorite of Mr. Brown. “Her patience with students, me in particular, is something I remember well,” he said. “I wasn’t the greatest student and didn’t always successfully stay focused on the task at hand.” Retired English teacher Chris Cusamano “was terrific,” he said. “He taught a great humanities class, but more importantly, led the Key club. We raised money throughout the year for different charities.”
Following his graduation from high school, Mr. Brown attended Boston University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in the School of Management. He later obtained a graduate degree at BU in management consulting.
While at Boston University, Mr. Brown walked on to the football team and quickly earned the respect of everyone associated with the squad. He was given a scholarship in his second year there and was the starting place kicker for three seasons.
“After spending two years in various NFL camps and playing arena football for two years, I decided it was time to put my degree to work in some way,” he said. It was then that he began working at Sportique Motors.
Mr. Brown said he was “lucky” to meet his wife, Renee. “She is a dentist, but is not practicing currently because she is raising our children,” he said. “We are expecting our third child in March.”
The Huntington grad joined the Huntington Hospital board of directors last year. “I was looking for a good fit for me to give back while helping in this sector,” he said. He’s partly motivated by a family tragedy that occurred 12 years ago and keeps that in mind as he performs his volunteer work.
Today Mr. Brown and his family call Fort Salonga home. But, a piece of his heart will always be reserved for Huntington High School and the many memories he continues to cherish from his years there.
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