Greg Brown (businessman)

Education

Brown graduated from Rutgers University, where he received a Bachelor of Science in economics in 1982. He graduated from Highland Park High School in New Jersey.

Career

After graduating from Rutgers with a degree in economics, Brown took a position with AT&T in 1982. He led a team that won a contract to sell over 10,000 computers to General Motors and Electronic Data Systems. He eventually left AT&T for Ameritech.

In 1996, Brown was appointed as president of Ameritech Custom Business Services, a position he held until 1999. He was also named president of Ameritech New Media Inc. from September 1996 to February 1999. In these roles he was responsible for all consumer cable TV operations, programming, and content relationships. The Ameritech CEO, Dick Notebaert, chose Brown to build a cable business inside Ameritech. That business was sold to Wide Open West LLC in 2001 for $1 billion (estimated).

Brown left Ameritech for the company Micromuse. He was the Chairman and CEO for the San Francisco-based network management software company(acquired by IBM) for four years until his resignation in December 2002 Under his leadership, the company’s annual revenue grew from $28 million to over $200 million. Brown left Micromuse to join Motorola.

Motorola and Motorola Solutions

Brown is chairman and chief executive officer of Motorola Solutions, which builds and connects safety and security technologies that help protect people, property and places, including communications, video security and the command center. He is the company’s longest-serving CEO, after the founder Paul Galvin and his son Bob. An analyst at Northcoast Research noted Brown "...has been a success on many levels. (Motorola Solutions) stock has blossomed, and the company has been transformed completely" during his tenure as CEO.

Brown joined Motorola in January 2003 as head of the communications, government, and industrial solutions sector. In this role, he led the acquisition of Symbol Technologies for $3.9 billion. In 2007 he was promoted to chief operating officer and, in 2008, was named CEO. In 2011 he was named Chairman of the Board.

In March 2008, with the company losing money, Brown announced that Motorola would split in two. Motorola became Motorola Mobility (the cellphone side of the company), and Motorola Solutions. Brown continued to run the new Motorola Solutions, which began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011. The company’s three business areas are land-mobile-radio communications (LMR), video security and the command center.

In the first 18 years after Brown became CEO, the company had more than 50 acquisitions and its stock returned almost 1,200%.

Boards and other work

Brown served on President George W. Bush’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC). The NSTAC is a group of chief executives representing various different service providers including communications and network services as well as finance, aerospace and IT companies. The committee advises the President on issues related to implementing national security and emergency preparedness (NS/EP) communications policy.

Brown also served on President Obama’s Management Advisory Board. The PMAB advises the President on how to implement best business practices on matters related to Federal Government management and operation, focusing on productivity, the application of technology, and customer service.

Brown is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and The Business Council. He serves on the board for the 9/11 Museum and Memorial and Board of Directors for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. He is also a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Advisory Board.

Awards and honors

• Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Rutgers University
• Daniel H. Burnham Award for Distinguished Leadership in 2013
• The Chicago Leadership Award from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs in 2014
• Eisenhower Award from Business Executives for National Security in Oct 2017
• The 2021 Heritage Award from the Red Cross of Illinois
• 2023 Chicago History Museum Making History Award Honoree
• Barron’s top CEOs 2023
• Fortune's "Under-recognized Standout CEOs" of 2024
• Yale's Legend in Leadership Award in 2025
• Brendan Wood International's TopGun CEO in 2025

Personal life

Brown, the youngest of five, grew up in North Brunswick, New Jersey. He spent the summers soliciting door to door to paint house numbers on curbs in exchange for donations. Brown and his wife, Anna, have two children.

References

References

1. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130511165835/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=223840&ticker=MSI Bloomberg BusinessWeek]
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5. Writer, CBR Staff. (1999-02-18). "MICROMUSE FINALLY APPOINTS NEW CHAIRMAN AND CEO".
6. (December 13, 2002). "Micromuse CEO to Join Motorola".
7. (Dec 13, 2002). "Micromuse loses CEO/Chairman Brown to Motorola".
8. Jackson, Donny. (10 February 2023). "Motorola Solutions highlights renewed LMR strength, growth in video, command-center arenas".
9. Team, Trefis. "What's Happening With Motorola Solutions Stock?".
10. Shepherd, Daniel. (2023-01-23). "Motorola brings its latest and greatest to Intersec 2023".
11. (2023-06-08). "How Motorola built a turnaround on public-safety tech {{!}} Fortune".
12. (27 November 2010). "Greg Brown's Motorola".
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14. Woyke, Elizabeth. "Motorola Solutions: The Other Motorola".
15. Ante, Spencer E.. (2011-01-03). "Motorola Split Will Impart More Focus". Wall Street Journal.
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28. Parker, Garrett. (2019-05-22). "The 20 Most Notable Rutgers University Alumni in Business".
29. (2023-06-07). "Chicago History Museum 29th Annual Making History Awards".
30. "Past Honorees".
31. "BENS-Leadership Report".
32. jdlugosz. (2022-03-01). "Chicago Police Officer's Training Put to the Test on Seventh Day on the Job: Award Sponsor Motorola Solutions Foundation Honors 2021 Red Cross Law Enforcement Hero".
33. (2023-06-07). "Chicago History Museum 29th Annual Making History Awards".
34. Hough, Jack. "Here Are Barron's Top CEOs of 2023".
35. "Five underrecognized standout CEOs of the year".
36. "Motorola Solutions Chairman and CEO Greg Brown to be Honored with the Yale Legend in Leadership Award {{!}} Yale School of Management".
37. "Next Year’s TopGun CEOs – Global Semiconductors & Hardware – World Class Investment Targets – 2026 {{!}} Brendan Wood International {{!}} TopGun Press".
38. (2012-02-13). "Executive profile: Greg Brown, CEO of Motorola Solutions".
39. (February 13, 2012). "Executive profile: Greg Brown, CEO of Motorola Solutions".