Building a Legacy
Ashley Brown is the hardest working person in the room.
That’s coming from her husband, Ed Brown. The 20-year CEO for The Patrón Spirits Company turned the fledgling liquor purveyor into the largest tequila brand in the world when it sold in 2018 for $5.1 billion. Not one to sit still, he recently launched Weber Ranch 1902, a vodka made from 100 percent blue agave, under his new company, Round 2 Spirits.
The feeling is mutual. In fact, the support for one another is not only paramount to their relationship; it’s palpable.
The couple met when Ashley, working as a reporter and web hostess, interviewed Ed and competed against him in a racecar simulator. He was chairman of Clear Sports and a professional racecar driver. Ashley lost the race (and broke the simulator), but Ed was hooked: they were engaged three months after their first date.
“She makes me better every day,” Ed says. “People think being the CEO is a great thing, but it’s the loneliest job in the world. With Ashley, I feel like there’s nothing I can’t share with her.”
Ashley agrees. “I respect Ed and admire him, and I am in awe of what he has accomplished and is still doing.”
Adopted at birth, Ashley has a passion for helping adoptees find their biological families. During their engagement, she shared her desire to start a nonprofit, and together the couple launched the Selfless Love Foundation, an organization designed to transform the child welfare system. Her biggest win? The foundation’s advocacy team worked for new legislation in Florida to create secure photo listings for children in foster care who are available for adoption. It passed unanimously and became law in July.
“When we got engaged … he said he would support me and the foundation, but that I had to do all the work,” Ashley says.
It’s been nine years, and Ed hasn’t wavered on that promise, though “when I said she has to do the work, I didn’t think it was going to be seven days a week, 15 hours a day,” he laughs. “I just try to get her out there so the rest of the world can see how special she is.”
Indeed: Ashley will be awarded the George H. W. Bush Points of Light Award this October in Washington, D.C.
“It’s really special because Selfless Love will live on forever and will be our legacy,” Ashley says. “In this way, our love story will also live on forever.”
Hair: Mario Jose Osorno
Makeup: Riane Morrismua
Location: Brown residence, Jupiter
Changing Perceptions
Polo seems to be an exclusive and unattainable sport—but Wellington’s polo powerhouse couple disagree. Marc and Melissa Ganzi say it’s a family affair and have worked tirelessly to change the perception of the sport.
It started in their family when Marc’s father, who played for three decades, bought his daughter-in-law a polo pony for her birthday in 2000. Marc wasn’t into the sport, but that changed quickly.
“Marc was an Aspen-raised ski racer and had no desire to play polo despite the fact that he was raised in a horse-obsessed ranching family,” says Melissa of her husband of almost 30 years. She joined forces with her father-in-law and convinced Marc to give it a try. “Naturally he fell in love … and has been playing ever since.”
The Ganzis own the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington and the Aspen Valley Polo Club in Colorado and have been instrumental in growing polo nationwide. “Marc and I want everyone to have the chance to learn about and experience polo at every age, gender, economic, and ability level,” says Melissa.
The couple host tournaments and offer scholarships. Their World Polo League is the only 26-goal polo—the highest level of the sport—outside of Argentina. In 2019, Melissa became the first woman to win the Snow Polo World Cup in St. Moritz. She continues to serve as a mentor and champion for other females in the sport. The Ganzis’ children, Grant and Riley, are highly involved in polo, and the couple use polo to raise funds for organizations like the Aspen Valley Hospital Foundation, Wounded Warrior Project, Kids Cancer Foundation, YMCA of the Palm Beaches, Sentebale, Forever Family, and more.
“If we can help create that access and use polo and the clubs as platforms for community work and charities, then we have succeeded in changing the narrative,” says Marc, who serves as CEO of DigitalBridge Group Inc. He is full of praise for his wife, who he admits is the better rider.
“[With] Melissa in polo and me in digital infrastructure, we are constantly breaking the barriers and institutional perspectives,” says Marc, crediting communication skills and time management as the key to their success. “This is critical to a successful partnership, friendship, and marriage.”
For her part, Melissa says Marc “is the most kind and generous man I know.”
Hair and makeup: Deborah Koepper, Deborah Koepper Beauty, Palm Beach
Location: Grand Champions Polo Club, Wellington
Double Vision
A conversation with Katherine and Gary Parr feels like being part of a Parisian art salon: humbly cerebral, socially conscious, and culturally aware, with a hint of sophisticated luxury. The two met at a fundraiser for the New York Philharmonic in 2009 when Gary served as chairman of the board.
“Kate stood out as the most beautiful woman there,” says Gary, who learned she gave up a career in fashion to teach at a Title 1 school in New Jersey. “I told her she was the most interesting person at the event, and I invited her out for tea.”
The couple married in 2016 and continue to focus their respective talents and mutual interests in the areas of education, philanthropy, and entrepreneurship. Gary says his wife leads with her empathy. And Katherine says, “Gary is a visionary. He can see what’s next.”
Integrity runs deep for the Parrs. In fact, Gary founded and is the chairman of the Parr Center for Ethics at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also served as the chairman of Venetian Heritage and produced about 10 films, including critically acclaimed titles like Boys Don’t Cry and Proof. His full-time work is as senior managing director of Apollo Global Management, the world’s largest alternative asset manager.
Not easily outdone, Katherine, who was discovered by famed photographer Patrick Demarchelier and worked in-house for Diane von Furstenberg, spearheaded a cross-cultural education exchange between her students at the school in New Jersey and a school in the Middle East through the United Nations Girls Education Initiative. She was accepted into the Fulbright Specialist Program for her business and academic expertise, and she is a jewelry designer. Queen Rania of Jordan and Rafael Nadal are fans, and her pieces have been privately exhibited for King Charles at his home, Clarence House. Locally, Katherine serves on the board of the Town of Palm Beach United Way.
In 2016, they launched Parré Chocolat, a luxury dark chocolate company with sustainable business practices. They’ve also combined their strengths to support Palm Beach Lakes High School, another Title 1 public school, where they sponsor a group of Shakespeare-enthused students to see the Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival—an event the Parrs help produce.
“Philanthropy is where we envision our future together—a place where we can use our time, talent, and treasury to make a difference,” Katherine says. “That’s where we see the future of our teamwork.”
Hair and makeup: Deborah Koepper, Deborah Koepper Beauty, Palm Beach
Location: Parr residence, Manalapan
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