Joan Maxwell

President | Regulator Marine

Joan Maxwell grew up in rural Fairfield, NC. She graduated from Mattamuskeet High School and the University of North Carolina, where she received a BA in history. She is married to Owen Maxwell and together they currently reside in Edenton, NC.

In 1988, Joan and Owen founded Regulator Marine in an abandoned A&P Grocery Store in Edenton. Regulator is now operating in an 121,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility and is one of the most well-respected brands in the boating industry.

Joan and her team transitioned Regulator Marine from a job shop/manufacturing process to a highly sophisticated lean manufacturing process. Under Joan’s leadership, Regulator received ISO 9000:2008 certification, as well as the North Carolina Department of Labor’s top safety award, the North Carolina Star.

In a historically male dominated industry, Joan remains active in the boating industry’s leading organization, the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), where she served as the first female Chairperson and currently remains on the Boat Divisional Manufacturer’s Board while also serving on the NMMA’s Board.

Joan focuses on learning innovative ways to improve the business that God has entrusted to her care. Currently, she is a member of C12, a Christian based leaders’ roundtable that focuses on building better businesses for a greater purpose.

Joan Maxwell demonstrates and demands from her leadership team at Regulator Marine a high level of integrity and positive leadership. Her service is evident in her dedication to not only Regulator Marine, but also to the local community in which Regulator is located. Joan established a Volunteer Program at Regulator Marine which pays employees their regular wages during working hours while they volunteer their time and services to various local organizations of their choosing. In 2018, Joan established the “In His Service” program at Regulator, which oversees Regulator’s charitable giving, as well as its employee emergency assistance fund. Joan’s passion is to personally live out Regulator’s core values and to lead her team to do the same.