The industry remembers Adrian Curtis

It is with extreme sadness and shock that we report the sudden passing of Adrian Curtis in Dubai at the age of 59. Adrian had been living and working in the UAE since the beginning of 2018 as managing director of distribution company, GSL Professional, relishing both the role and the lifestyle changes it brought about as he settled in Dubai with Jo, his wife of 33 years.

Adrian graduated from Newcastle University in 1982 with a degree in electrical and electronic engineering. Joining Soundcraft Electronics in 1983, he was with the company when it was acquired by Harman five years later. Starting as a service engineer, he moved into sales in the late 1980s and progressed through the ranks of the rapidly expanding group, becoming VP of sales for Soundcraft and later taking over responsibility for the Harman Mixer Group sales in 2009. He became interim head of EMEA sales for Harman Professional in May 2012, before joining GSL Professional.

“Adrian was my first boss at Soundcraft when I moved into sales in the late 1980s and he was always supportive; a great mentor and a whizz at Excel,” remembers Ian Staddon, now VP of sales at DiGiCo, who worked at Harman with Adrian. “He was always the one who had to put the whole Harman Pro Group sales budgets together for corporate every year and moaned about it, but I know he loved it really! He was genuinely loved and respected by those that worked for him and especially all the distributors around the globe. Typical of Adrian, he was still working while very ill last week and we were chatting on the phone. This has been a terrible shock and I send my sincere condolences to Jo and the family.”

We at Blank Canvas team have enduring memories of Adrian too. “While our paths had crossed during his time at Harman, it was only in the past few years when Adrian had moved to Dubai that we were in regular contact,” commented advertising director, Sue Gould. “He was a true gentleman, generous, open and incredibly supportive of Pro AVL MEA - I thoroughly enjoyed his company and spending time with he and his wife Jo. Our thoughts are with her and the family at this very sad time. He will be sorely missed.”

Pro AVL Asia editor Caroline Moss watched Adrian’s impressive progress through the ranks of pro audio, having first met him as a keen young university graduate when they both joined Soundcraft. “I’ll always remember Adrian bounding through the door each morning, his ready grin framed by abundant black hair, clad in the standard skinny-jeans-and-trainers uniform of the service team,” she said. “Over the years, as Adrian’s career progressed, the jeans and bushy hair gave way to something more business-like, but the smile never changed, and it was always a pleasure to catch up with him again.”

To say that Adrian will be missed by the pro audio industry can in no way convey his huge presence in it for almost four decades, and the extensive network of friends and colleagues he built. Our hearts go out to Jo, their three children, family and friends as well as Adrian’s colleagues at GSL and throughout the industry.