Brown was educated at York University and Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree, an MBA, and a diploma in Business Administration.
He was a lecturer at Ryerson and Seneca College and the University of Toronto from 1971 to 1974 and was later a prominent member of Normandy Manufacturing and Republic Goldfields, Minefinders Corp.
Brown ran for the Ontario legislature in the 1990 provincial election, but finished a distant third in Scarborough West against New Democrat Anne Swarbrick.
Brown also served as co-chair of Harris's "Ontario Crime Control Commission" along with Gerry Martiniuk and Bob Wood.
"[4] In November 1998, he attracted controversy by claiming that prostitution rates regularly increased in Toronto during the city's Santa Claus Parade.