Team

Experience matters. It just isn’t the whole story.

When conditions change, titles offer perspective — not clarity. What sustains advantage is curiosity, pattern recognition, and the discipline to keep learning as the environment moves.

We’re not defined by résumé lines. We’re defined by how we think, how we listen, and how we test ideas together.

That’s how we work — and the kind of leaders we’re drawn to.

Paul Pfanner has spent more than five decades at the intersection of automotive and motorsports media, brand strategy, and leadership advisory. An artist and designer by training, he evolved into a writer, strategist, and trusted counselor to leaders navigating pivotal transitions.

He founded Southern California–based Pfanner Communications and Racer Communications, building influential media properties including RACER, RACER.com, SportsCar, and IndyCar Series magazines, and producing automotive and motorsports content for platforms including FOX-owned SpeedTV.com. In 2001, Paul sold a majority stake in Racer Communications to U.K.–based Haymarket Publishing and served as President through 2005.

He reestablished Pfanner Communications in 2006 as a strategic advisory practice. In 2012 he was part of the group that reacquired RACER and, through Racer Media & Marketing, led the company as CEO and Board member until 2025 — guiding it through the most consequential shifts in media and technology the industry has seen.

“Behavior is brand. All you really have is now — use it. Drive change, rather than resist it.”

Paul has moderated Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) World Congress panels featuring global motorsport leaders, was inducted into the SCCA Hall of Fame in 2022, and received the SCCA’s Woolf Barnato Award in 2023 — the organization’s highest honor. He serves on the Laguna Seca Raceway Foundation Board and the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Hall of Fame nominating committee.

Across multiple industry cycles — from print to digital platforms to AI-accelerated environments — his work has centered on one consistent discipline: clarity under uncertainty. He now advises leadership teams and long-horizon capital partners where culture and capital intersect, ensuring growth strengthens identity rather than quietly eroding it.

Bill Sparks has spent more than three decades at the intersection of motorsports, media, and marketing — as a co-founder, publisher, strategist, photographer, writer, and filmmaker.

He began in an editorial role with Pfanner Communications’ automotive and motorsports clients before moving into the business side of the organization. Sparks developed the business plan for RACER magazine and led its launch as founding publisher — helping establish it as one of North America’s most respected omni-channel motorsports brands.

“We’ve always believed that insight matters. But what matters more is turning it into action that stays true to the brand.”

A longtime observer of technological and cultural change, Sparks conceived the OnCars automotive video platform and studio in 2006, anticipating the shift toward digital video storytelling years before branded content became industry standard. Working alongside Paul Pfanner, he brought the platform to launch in 2008 — one of the earliest examples of what is now common practice across every major media category.

Through multiple ownership transitions and media cycles, Sparks has developed a clear perspective on how capital reshapes opportunity and risk — and on the specific ways that expansion can outpace the brand integrity that ultimately sustains long-term value. That perspective now anchors the business strategy of Pfanner Communications, where he brings disciplined execution to ideas built to endure.

Bill Long brings more than four decades of leadership across the automotive and motorsports industries, grounded in strategic clarity and a consistent focus on societal relevance.

As President & CEO of MEMA, The Vehicle Suppliers Association, he repositioned the 120-year-old organization for a rapidly evolving mobility landscape — strengthening its role as a unified voice for innovation, safety, sustainability, and economic growth. Long previously held executive roles across the automotive and commercial vehicle sectors, including leadership positions at Echlin (Borg-Warner, Accel, Hurst Shifters, Mr. Gasket), Dana, Inc., and Proliance International. His experience spans original equipment, aftermarket, performance brands, and emerging mobility technologies.

“It’s been said, without change there is no profit. Now more than ever, leaders need clarity to navigate the broad range of possibilities.”

A lifelong participant in motorsports, he has served in leadership roles with IndyCar and NASCAR and currently sits on the boards of the Automotive Hall of Fame, the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), and Women in Motorsports North America (WIMNA).

Long brings particular perspective to moments when growth capital intersects with brand purpose — helping organizations scale in ways that preserve societal relevance rather than dilute it. He advises leaders navigating structural change, bringing seasoned judgment to moments that require conviction under uncertainty.