Bob Brown, former VP and later Great Lakes sales manager for Bobit Business Media, passed away on Sunday, March 28, 2021, a day after he celebrated his 86th birthday with his family. 

Brown was a prominent figure in the industry and was active in fleet for much of his professional career. He was a member of the Automotive Fleet Leasing Association (AFLA) and NAFA, and he served as a resource for OEM fleet managers in Detroit for more than three decades,

He also had a hand in launching several fleet publications at Bobit Business Media, including Fleet Financials, Business Cars and Trucks, and Business Vehicle Management. 

Brown sold the first ever VHS tape insert for a B2B magazine for a project with Buick that appeared in Automotive Fleet in 1984. He was also the first person to ever sell a CD insert as well in 1992.

Brown was the father of long time Bobit employee and former company president, Sherb Brown and current Automotive Fleet associate publisher Bob Brown Jr. He was also inducted into the Fleet Hall of Fame in 2018.

He is also survived by his wife of 55 years, Patti Brown and son Dayton Brown along with three daughters in law, lots of grandchildren and nieces and nephews who will all miss him tremendously. Bob loved the fleet business, he loved Bobit Business Media, he loved Ty and Ed Bobit, he loved his friends in the fleet industry, and most of all he loved his family.  

He loved the company that he helped Ed Bobit build beginning back in the 1960s and was immensely proud that his two eldest sons followed in his footsteps.