Mr Brown graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in History in 1958. In 1960, he graduated from the American Graduate School of International Management with a B.S. in Foreign Trade. Mr Brown is former chairman and chief executive officer of Brown-Forman Corporation, a consumer products company, in Louisville, Kentucky. He served as president and chief executive officer of the company between 1975 and 1983 and as chairman & CEO until July 1993, when he stepped down as chief executive officer. He remained chairman of the board until July 1995 and served as a director until July 1996. Mr. Brown is a former member of the President's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, to which he was appointed by President Reagan in 1988, and reappointed by President Bush in 1990 and 1992 and by President Clinton in 1994. Mr. Brown was a member of the Board of Directors of the National City Corporation, Pennzoil-Quaker State Company, Westvaco Corporation, The France Growth Fund, Inc., First Kentucky National Corporation, and the Advisory Board of Bessemer Holdings, L.P. He was also a member of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia from 1987-1995. He was also a member of the Alumni Board of Trustees of the University of Virginia Endowment Fund. Mr. Brown also served as chairman of the board of the American Business Conference, Washington, D.C., chairman and president of the J.B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville, and president of the University of Virginia Alumni Association. The honor of Chevalier de L'Ordre du Merite Agricole was conferred on Mr. Brown by the French government in 1974, and he was appointed an honorary consul of France in 1975 and served in this capacity until 1990.