John Joseph Campion (January 17, 1963 – October 2, 2020) was an

Irish-American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

entrepreneur. In 1987, he founded Showpower, Inc., a

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

company that provided portable generators for the

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, U2,

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and

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. Campion served as chairman and chief executive officer of APR Energy plc (LSE: APR).

Early life

Born in Cork, Ireland, Campion was held back in primary school twice, failed secondary school exams, and did not attend college. At age 21, Campion emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

with an airline ticket and $25 in his possession.

Corporate leadership

Under the leadership of Campion, APR Energy specialized in the rapid deployment of electrical power-generating plants in areas of the world that have been struck by

natural disasters A natural disaster is "the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a community". A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some econo ...

or that are experiencing a shortage of energy. The modular power plants are typically constructed in a few months. Campion held several patents for this technology. One such plant was assembled in 45 days following the 2011

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

and

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, a task that would normally require from three to four years to complete for a permanent power plant installation. It took APR Energy less than a month to deploy a power plant in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

with the equivalent generating capacity to power approximately 120,000 American homes. Other projects have been undertaken in

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

and

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

, among other countries. The company has received numerous awards for its technology. From zero revenues at its founding, APR Energy has grown to $486 million in revenues, projected for 2014. The company employs more than 150 people in

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

and over 850 internationally. In 2014, the company was valued at $1.2 billion. Campion, who founded APR Energy, left his role as CEO in May 2019 to take over as the non-executive chairman for the APR board.

The Campion Automotive Collection

Campion assembled a stable of

Lancia Lancia () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of FCA Italy S.p.A., which is currently a Stellantis division. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganised its businesses, but it ...

s. His collection includes seven models that have each raced in the World Rally Championship (WRC): *1969

Lancia Fulvia The Lancia Fulvia (Tipo 818) is an automobile produced by Lancia between 1963 and 1976. Named after Via Fulvia, the Roman road leading from Tortona to Turin, it was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 1963 and manufactured in three variants: B ...

, winner of the 1972 Daily Mirror Royal Automobile Club Rally, a predecessor of the WRC *1975

Lancia Stratos The Lancia Stratos HF (''Tipo 829''), widely and more simply known as Lancia Stratos, is a rear mid-engined sports car designed for rally racing, made by Italian car manufacturer Lancia. The HF stands for ''High Fidelity''. It was a very successf ...

, winner of several races in the late 1970s and restored in 2011 *1979

Fiat 131 The Fiat 131 is a family sedan manufactured and marketed by Fiat from 1974 to 1984 after its debut at the 1974 Turin Motor Show. Available as a two-door and four-door saloon and 5-door estate across a single generation, the 131 succeeded th ...

, was on the cover of Road & Track, May issue 1980 *1980

Lancia Beta Montecarlo Lancia () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of FCA Italy S.p.A., which is currently a Stellantis division. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganised its businesses, but its ...

GR5, ran in Daytona 24 Hours in 1981 and dropped a valve on hour 14 *1983 Lancia 037 Evo 2 chassis #11 of 20 Evolution 2s. Took part in nearly two dozen rally races, earning several top-three finishes, including first place in a 1985 Coppa Italia race *1983

Lancia LC2 The Lancia LC2 (sometimes referred to as the Lancia-Ferrari) was a series of racing cars built by Italian automobile manufacturer Lancia and powered by engines built by their sister company Ferrari. They were part of Lancia's official factory-bac ...

chassis #001 of 7, raced at Monza and Le Mans in the 1983 and ‘84 seasons, and three races at Fuji in 1985 *1985

Lancia Delta S4 The Lancia Delta S4 is a Group B rally car manufactured by the Italian car company Lancia. The Delta S4 competed in the World Rally Championship in 1985 and 1986, until Group B class was disbanded and the cars were eventually banned from competit ...

, used as a test car for all the races that the Delta S4 was in on the World Rally Championship *1988

Lancia Delta Integrale The Lancia Delta is a small family car produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Lancia in three generations. The first generation (1979-1994) debuted at the 1979 Frankfurt Motor Show, the second generation (1993-1999) debuted at the 1993 Gen ...

that won the 1988 Portugal Rally and the 1988 Olympus/USA race His Lancia collection has been displayed at the 2015 Concours d’Elegance on Amelia Island, Florida. Campion's complete car collection also includes Ferraris, Alfa Romeos and Porsches.

Philanthropy

Campion helped to launch Team Ireland along with the

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The ...

and the President of Motorsport Ireland. The Team Ireland Foundation is a national program designed to support young drivers in the sports of

rallying Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...

racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...

and

karting Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...

. Campion was involved with the

University of North Florida The University of North Florida (UNF) is a public research university in Jacksonville, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Sch ...

’s Osprey SAE Student Race Team. The UNF Osprey Student Racing team received financial support and mentorship from Campion in 2015 and 2016. A partner of the Just a Bunch of Roadies (JABOR) global humanitarian group, Campion's work included donating fuel, plus trucks and personnel to relief efforts in Haiti following the earthquake in 2010. In addition to his other works, Campion served as a board member to

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution ...

, providing students development support.

Death

Campion died from leukemia on October 2, 2020, aged 57.

Awards and recognition

*2017 Honorary BS in Mechanical Engineering from

*2016

Ellis Island Medal of Honor The Ellis Island Medal of Honor is an American award founded by the Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) (formerly known as the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO)), which is presented annually to American citizens, both native-born a ...

Recipient *Jacksonville Business Journal 2014 Ultimate CEO *Performance Magazine Awards : ShowPower Generators 1996, 1997 & 1998 *Jacksonville Business Journal Innovation of the Year 2014 *MEED Quality Awards 2014 - Oman Power & Water Project of the Year *Asian Power's Fast-Track Power Plant of the Year – 2014 *Middle East Electricity's Power Plant of the Year Finalist

Patents

*Scalable Portable Modular Power Plant, US 8,816,518 B2 *Scalable Portable Modular Power Plant, US 8,872,366 B2

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campion, John Joseph 1963 births 2020 deaths American energy industry businesspeople 20th-century Irish businesspeople Businesspeople from Cork (city) Irish emigrants to the United States 21st-century Irish businesspeople