Newsmakers:
November 2021
Primary Arms Taps Director
Primary Arms named Gregory C. Barnez II the director of government programs and sales.
“Gregory comes to us with a strong military, law enforcement and sales background along with a wealth of knowledge required in government sales and programs,” said Ozge Cumberland, Primary Arms’ SVP of sales, marketing and business development. “This is essential to the continued growth of the Primary Arms Government division, which will be further strengthened by Gregory’s contributions.”
Barnez has over 25 years of experience in sales management, supply and government distribution. He also has directorial experience in government sales from companies such as ThermoFisher Inc., IMI Precision Engineering Inc. and W.W. Grainger Inc. — where he earned his Six Sigma Black Belt certification.
Legacy Sports International Hires & Promotes Directors
Legacy Sports International (LSI) and Reno Cerakote announced the hire of Darren Jacobson as Midwest sales director (Legacy Sports), and Justin Cagle’s promotion to director of LSI product development and director of Reno Cerakote operations.
Jacobson, who has more than 35 years’ experience in the outdoor industry, will be covering Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Iowa and Illinois, and will oversee distribution, box, buy group and independent account business for the company within these territories.
“Darren brings an excellent business mind and first-rate relationship skills within the outdoor industry as a whole,” said Andy McCormick, senior EVP of sales and marketing at Legacy Sports.
In his new role, Cagle will be in charge of planning and organizing production schedules, assessing project and resource requirements and overseeing various projects.
He joined LSI in 2017 as the nightshift supervisor for Reno Cerakote and has since been promoted twice with increasing responsibilities. Cagle earned a bachelor’s in wildlife biology from Kansas Wesleyan University.
Clenzoil Names Operations Director
Cody Harrelson has joined Clenzoil as director of operations.
Chris Hoffman, Clenzoil president shared, “[Harrelson’s] integrated operations experience and vast skill set will allow us to capitalize on the continued growth of the Clenzoil brand as we continue to expand our dealer network and operational footprint.”
With over nine years of experience in the firearms industry in roles including sales, customer service, manufacturing, shipping and management, Harrelson brings a wealth of experience, industry knowledge, and proficiency in operational and quality control processes to his new position.
SDS Imports Names CEO
SDS Imports has retained the services of Tim Mulverhill as CEO. Mulverhill will be responsible for restructuring SDS to expand its domestic manufacturing capabilities, driving branding strategies and focusing the import arm of the organization.
SDS Partner David Fillers said, “We wanted to maintain the exponential growth we’ve enjoyed over the past three years and felt it was necessary to bring in a CEO and CFO to support this. I’ve known Tim since his days in the training business and appreciate his depth of understanding of the firearms industry.”
Mulverhill will draw on his manufacturing experience as COO at Samson Manufacturing, and his tenure as Kimber’s director of product development.
Walther Arms Inc. Appoints President
Walther Arms Inc. announced the appointment of Rob McCanna to president from his position as VP of sales. His promotion is part of a long-term strategic transition for Walther CEO Adam Blalock, who is relinquishing the title of president, but will remain Walther’s CEO and chairman of the board for Umarex USA.
“Rob McCanna is more than qualified and prepared for this move. He has the required ability and experience combined with a passion to see customers and employees thrive. I’m excited to see what Rob will do for Walther,” said Blalock.
McCanna has nearly 35 years of experience in the firearms industry and has spent the past 12 in various senior leadership roles at Walther focusing on sales, marketing and channel management.
AKTI Elects VP
The American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI) unanimously elected Columbia River Knife & Tool (CRKT) President Mark Schreiber to VP where he will oversee the finance committee during his two-year term.
“I strongly support AKTI and its mission and goals,” said Mark Schreiber. “And I am proud to increase my participation by accepting the position of vice president.
AKTI has successfully helped industry companies facing problems, including CRKT, initiate and support legislation to remove restrictive knife laws or clarify confusing ones and provides the most reliable knife law information on our website.”
Schreiber has served as president of CRKT since 2015, following roles as EVP, VP of operations and IT & Systems manager.
Pelican Products Selects CIO
Shree Khare joined Pelican Products’ senior leadership team as chief information officer. Khare’s role includes the establishment of short- and long-term strategies related to Pelican’s information management, cyber security and processing systems. He is charged with identifying, evaluating and implementing technological changes to positively impact Pelican’s objectives, operations and growth.
Khare has an extensive background in enterprise resource planning, application development, website re-platforming, cloud migration, M&A integration, customer relationship management and cyber security initiatives. He held senior roles at Oakwood Worldwide, Classic Party Rentals, Mattel, Capital Group Companies, ConAgra and Accenture.
He earned both a B.S. and M.S. in engineering from Harvey Mudd College and an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Have new hires or promotion announcements to share? Send releases to: editor@shootingindustry.com
FMG Publications Remembers “Grammar Guru”
FMG Publications would like to honor Gwen Gunn, FMG’s “Grammar Guru” — a vital behind-the-scenes member of the editorial team since 2016. She and her husband, Joe, passed away in August after succumbing to complications of COVID-19.
“Gwen was a perfect fit for GUNS Magazine, American Handgunner and Shooting Industry — and not just because of her name — but because she had the same passion for the written word all of us on the editorial team have,” remembers Jazz Jimenez, FMG associate editor. “All of us at FMG appreciate your efforts to make our publications error-free, Gwen. Thank you for being a valuable member of our team for the past five years. We will miss you.”