Bio
Over his 20-year-long career as a Navy SEAL, Curt Cronin deployed to eighteen countries throughout the PACIFIC and CENTCOM areas of operation and spent more than four years overseas. In that time, living and working in an environment where milliseconds made the difference between life and death and winning and losing, he honed his talent as a catalyst for transformation and rose to eventually lead the nation’s premier SEAL assault force. As a SEAL leader, he maximized his team’s effectiveness by forging unique and unlikely alliances. He transformed an offensive unit of Navy SEALs into a defensive Presidential protection unit in the midst of combat and created the model for multi-disciplinary counter-terrorism operations out of a widely disparate patchwork of organizations as part of an Embassy team in the Middle East. Curt’s experiences as a SEAL reinforced his fundamental belief that the competitive edge for any organization in the information age is neither technology nor information, but the unparalleled power of an aligned team. As a speaker, Curt addresses the art of leadership, organizational change for the information age, and the talent of harnessing your own courage and heroism to inspire and empower individuals and teams.
In addition to his combat experience, Curt is an entrepreneur and innovator. He capitalizes on his combined experiences and lessons from the military, academic and business worlds to advise numerous organizations, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to niche startups on how to catalyze an exponential culture of execution and innovation. In 2016, Curt co-founded the Broadway Strategic Return Fund, the world’s first professionally managed, data-driven fund focused on the performing arts industry. He has raised over $100M in capital for startup technology ventures and consulted with Fortune 500, Startup, and Professional Sports Teams to exponentially grow their businesses, optimize their efficiency through saving over $1B in OPEX or coach over 100 executives and professional athletes to peak effectiveness. He began his entrepreneurial career with General Stan McChrystal and the McChrystal Group, where he served as a managing partner in transformational consulting.
From academics to capital management, Broadway theatricals to technology, and peak performance coaching to relationships; Curt focuses his efforts on the proactive side of infinity by enabling individuals and businesses to see around corners and predict challenges and opportunities before others even know they exist.
Curt received his MBA at combined programs from the London School of Economics, New York University’s Stern School of Business, and the HEC School of Management in Paris. Curt graduated fifth in his class from the United States Naval Academy and has been awarded two Bronze Star medals for combat valor and three Distinguished Meritorious Service Medals. He is married to his wife, Julia, and has five children.
