McKeel Hagerty
McKeel began playing with cars as a boy and hasn’t stopped since, turning his parent’s small local insurance agency into the world’s largest provider of specialty insurance to vintage vehicle enthusiasts and an automotive lifestyle brand focused on the love of cars and driving.
His “grow yourself first” approach to life and leadership has been so successful that in 2016-2017 he was elected international chairman of YPO, the world’s largest peer-to-peer group for CEOs. During his term, he traveled extensively, talking to world leaders and business innovators about leadership and success. He’ll share his thoughts on these subjects in his first book, “Who Will Lead?” due out next spring.
McKeel’s knowledge and enthusiasm have given him a reputation as an authority within the automotive and automotive media worlds, representing the classic car community on numerous boards and advisory groups, and appearing regularly as a commentator for ESPN, SPEED, CNBC and Discovery. He is also a long-time judge of the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
Before choosing the family business, he studied to be a Russian Orthodox priest (Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary) and then a philosophy professor (Boston College). He lives with his wife Soon Hagerty near Traverse City, Michigan, the cherry capital of the world, on a narrow peninsula that juts into Lake Michigan. They have three wonderful daughters, Olivia, Sophia and Ava.
To this day, McKeel’s fondest car memory is, at the age of 13, buying and restoring a 1967 Porsche 911S that he and his dad found in pieces in snowbanks behind an old garage.
He cherishes it and drives it to this day.
