Iconic Marine Group COO Joe Curran Passes Away at 55
Joe Curran, the chief operating officer of Iconic Marine Group (Fountain, Donzi, Baja), has passed away. He was only a couple of weeks away from celebrating his 56th birthday.
Extremely popular and well respected in the industry for leading the reemergence of Iconic’s three brands, Curran died on Wednesday after a short and hard-fought battle with stomach cancer.
In his role as Iconic’s COO, Curran was part of the company’s original management team and provided leadership, vision and unmatched passion to one of speedboating’s greatest turnarounds. Multi-talented like few in the marine industry, Curran spearheaded Iconic’s sales, new product development, strategic planning, marketing and dealer network expansion.
“When Iconic was formed, Joe was my first hire,” said Managing Partner Fred Ross. “I couldn’t have made a better choice. Joe’s passion for boating was obvious, his talent and experience in so many areas unmatched. We’ll miss Joe as a leader and a driving force at Iconic, but more than anything, we’ll miss him as a friend.”
With Curran at the helm, Iconic introduced five new models and revived 11 models in less than two years, and once again has become a driving force in both the high performance and sport-boat markets.
In addition to his success at Iconic, Curran’s diverse career also included key roles at US Marine, Wellcraft, Chris-Craft, Monterey Boats and Brunswick. He was married to his wife, Julie, for 32 years. Memorial services will be held at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Elmhurst, IL, on April 4.
