Michael Brent Jarboe
Chief Executive Officer
Brent has spent his life dedicated to the firearms industry, beginning at a young age by studying numerous texts on the history of small arms. From there, he chose his course of study in Mechanical Engineering to specifically prepare him for a career in the field of firearm development. During college, he spent three years performing gunsmithing and retail sales support for one of Kentucky’s largest independent firearm retailers, personally totaling over $1 million in sales.
In 1995, Brent initiated the co-op program between the University of Louisville and the Remington Arms Company, where he worked and then moved into a permanent engineering position upon graduation from the University of Louisville Speed Scientific School. Over the next 16 years, Brent became a vital engineering resource for numerous high-profile programs for Remington. The first ten years were spent with the commercial firearms group, developing both gas and inertia-based auto loading shotguns culminating in the release of the first mass-produced bottom-eject auto loading shotgun, the 105CTi.
Following his work with shotguns, Brent helped pioneer Remington’s formation of the Defense division, a group designated to develop cutting edge products for today’s warfighter. The Remington Modular Sniper Rifle (MSR) emerged from this effort along with the Remington Arms Chassis System (RACS), the M2010, the Precision Sniper Rifle (PSR), and the Concealable Sniper Rifle (CSR). Brent’s designs competed alongside the best industry offerings and resulted in contract awards totaling nearly $200 million with usage by all branches of service. In all, Brent has been awarded eight patents from his time with Remington.
Brent is an accomplished competitive shooter, having set four NRA National Records for Smallbore Conventional 3-Position. He was also the anchor member on a national championship team for NRA Smallbore Conventional Prone Anysight. Brent is an NRA Endowment member, a Distinguished Prone Rifleman, and has represented the U.S. on three separate Dewar Team competitions. Not just limited to firearms and ammunition, Brent is also a Level 2 USA Archery coach and a certified Basic Archery Instructor for the National Archery in the Schools program.
Marlin R. Jiranek, II
Chief Operating Officer
From being an NCAA swimmer to achieving a 6th Dan Master Black Belt rank in Tae Kwon Do, Marlin’s competitive drive to compete with and become the best remains ever present in all he approaches in life. As a certified Six-Sigma Black Belt, Marlin can quickly assess any problem and systematically begin forming the best approach to solving it and has a proven track record of doing so. His professional career has been no different. As a no-nonsense, results driven professional, Marlin has solidified his place as a welcomed addition to any development team.
Graduating with a Masters in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Missouri – Rolla, Marlin quickly established a position of invaluableness with the Remington Arms Company. For over 19 years, Marlin helped shape the products released by Remington and the methodology of how products are developed and tested. Originally hired as a metallurgical engineer, his exceptional problem-solving root-cause failure analysis skills, and insight into market needs quickly established his role as a second-to-none material scientist, failure analyst, and product developer. With six patents to his credit, Marlin has been part of the development teams for some of the most innovative programs released by Remington. Marlin was assigned the lead developing the Remington 700 Carbon where he developed a unique weave for wrapping carbon fiber around rifle barrels. This patented process yielded an industry first with barrels that utilized the carbon fiber for structural integrity, creating the lightest barrels possible.
Marlin provided material and design support for three contract winning sniper rifle programs: the MSR, the M2010, and the PSR. In his vital supporting role, Marlin evolved the ACR from a prototype into a commercialized product and then a legitimate contender for the U.S. Army Individual Carbine Solicitation. This work helped expand Marlin’s professional scope by allowing him to transition into the Defense Development Group within Remington. In his role as a Defense Products Design Engineer, Marlin proved instrumental in planning, orchestrating, and conducting the testing of the R4 platform, securing a $72 million Army of the Philippine Islands contract award as well as managing the Low-Visibility Assault Weapon (LVAW) program for the U.S. Army solicitation.
Marlin remains dedicated to the industry in his spare time as an avid and accomplished 3-Gun competitor, IDPA and USPSA competitor, hunter, and recreational shooter. Through volunteering in various ministries and leading the safety & security team at his church, Marlin has introduced shooting sports to many who never would have enjoyed the opportunity otherwise. When not at the range, he instructs Tae Kwon Do to students of all ages at Sheroan’s Tae Kwon Do Academy and serves on the Board of Directors for the Kentucky Taekwondo Won Corporation. Marlin serves as a Deacon and various other committees and functions at Severns Valley Baptist Church, including the Stewardship Committee, Personnel Committee, Praise Band member, and the Celebrate Recovery ministry.
Ronald Christopher Ordway
VP/GM Caseline Operations
With a professional career path different to that of his fellow owners at the company, Chris brings a unique and complementing skillset to the leadership team at ADG. Following graduation from Murray State University with degrees in business, journalism and marketing, Chris joined the community newspaper division of Landmark Media Enterprises (LME), a private media company owning and operating hundreds of newspapers, television stations and other media properties across the United States.
With LME, Chris held leadership roles in operational areas including advertising, marketing, distribution and production. At 35, he became one of LME’s youngest publisher & regional managers with direct financial, strategic and operational responsibility for daily and multi-frequency newspapers in central Kentucky and southern Indiana. At the peak of his media career, Chris held financial performance, strategic implementation, operations and capital project management responsibility for sixteen newspapers and three commercial printing and distribution facilities across central and northern Kentucky and southern Indiana.
During his career, Chris actively contributed to the directional leadership of national, state and local boards of directors, including the National Newspaper Association, Kentucky Press Association, Kentucky CASA Network, Fort Knox Regional Development Alliance, and United Way of Central Kentucky, among others.
Chris joined ADG as VP/General Manager of Caseline Operations in November 2022. His first 2 months of employment involved a purposeful “undercover boss” role going through basic caseline operator training, with production staff and others in the facility assuming he had been hired as a caseline operator. People were very surprised once the veil was lifted. Chris seized the opportunity to become an owner of ADG in February of 2024.
To date, Chris’s production management and personnel leadership experience has allowed him to increase the production capability of ADG’s caseline operations by over 30%. He has streamlined new employee onboarding processes and created a systematic training program that rewards ADG caseline production operators with merit-based position and compensation advancement, rather than the industry standards of “time served”. The more job mastery ADG operators demonstrate in their work, the greater their compensation. Chris has lead streamlining of ADG’s production process from the point at which raw materials and tooling is ordered, through inspected and packaged cartridge brass flowing off our dock on its way to our valued customers.
While a newcomer to the industry, Chris is well-versed in the shooting sports lifestyle and values. A Life Endowment member of the National Rifle Association, Safari Club International, and other localized shooting clubs and organizations, Chris is an avid hunter and wing shooter, hobbyist handloader, and recreational competitive shooter in 3-Gun, IDPA and IPSC club, state and national matches.
Kevin Blanford
Vice President – Industrial Design
Kevin had entrepreneurial aspirations from a very young age. Working his way up from customer service and delivery to store manager, Kevin helped grow his father’s hardware store into a community pillar in Marion County, Kentucky. With a natural mechanical ability, Kevin grew interested in the designs of the products the store sold. To satisfy this interest, Kevin graduated with a degree in Applied Science from Elizabethtown Community and Technical College and quickly earned his Certified Drafter credentials. Accustomed to proving himself through the ranks, Kevin began his career at the Remington Arms Co. as a Computer Aided Design Technician where he became the authority of Geometrical Dimensioning and Tolerancing practices for the Research and Development Center.
As Kevin’s career flourished, he began to pioneer the digital design of stocks from surfaces and solid models. A task previously accomplished by a stock maker and a duplicator, Kevin free-formed gunstocks and soon had Remington’s entire portfolio captured in parametrically updatable solid models. He was given additional responsibility for design and, together with the senior polymer engineer, began designing unique synthetic stocks, breathing a fresh look and feel into a mature product line. Some stock designs of note are the XCR synthetic, Versa Max, M887, M770, and the ShurShot. Kevin has made his mark on virtually every composite product released by the Remington Arms Co. over the past twelve years. His eye for detail and how it interacts with the human form has positioned Kevin as one of the foremost industry experts in the ergonomic design of synthetic stocks. With the ability to operate both DMLS and SLS rapid prototyping machines, Kevin has been on the cutting edge of quick turnaround design, shaping concepts into production faster than previously possible. Most recently, Kevin’s innovative eye warranted his promotion to Industrial Design Engineer, On Gun Accessories.
Kevin is an original founder of ADG and started on Day 1. Kevin has managed all the industrial design and technical design and drawing standards at ADG. Kevin has been instrumental in the production of over 15 complete TDP’s (Technical Data Package) that include models and drawings all conforming to current industry GD&T standards. The drawing packages created by ADG are second to none and complete in every aspect to allow for the consistent manufacturing quality that should be required by all manufacturers.
Kevin is an avid hunter and brings a hunter’s perspective to the team. Keeping himself apprised of the needs in the field, he readily applies aesthetically appealing form to robust function. Whether in a blind or on a sporting clays course, Kevin more often than not spends his leisure time outdoors with a firearm in his hands.
Mark T. Hammond
Vice President – Contract Engineering / CNC Operations
Mark grew up on a large professional farm, fostering his love for both the outdoors and all things mechanical. Being involved in a family business, responsibilities typically reserved for more seasoned employees were assigned at a very young age. On the farm, firearms were regular tools and Mark learned to appreciate their history and design, becoming a true student of the gun. This passion and his natural mechanical interests led him to pursue a Bachelor’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kentucky. While in college, Mark continued his shooting development and natural leadership traits by becoming the president and team captain of the trap and skeet team where he and his team competed nationally in ACUI sanctioned events.
As a co-op student and part-time engineering technician, Mark gleaned valuable manufacturing knowledge by spending two and a half years working in high-volume production of electro-mechanical switches for Texas Instruments. There he established an automated laser welding system that dramatically sped up production and improved quality over the previous manual system. After TI, Mark worked for Honda of America Manufacturing, Inc. where he spent three years ensuring new model quality maturation during production start-up through complete vehicle and component testing in the area of brake systems and related chassis components. He played a key role in testing for all 2003 through 2006 model years manufactured in the Western Hemisphere, which included both cars and light trucks for the Honda and Acura brand names. Being a global company, Mark had the opportunity to work with and qualify domestic and international suppliers for the Auto Parts Quality division, gaining key insight in this dynamic and critical business segment.
In 2004, Mark leapt at the opportunity to combine his lifelong passion for the shooting sports and his professional engineering career by accepting a test lab engineer position with the Remington Arms Company, LLC. Leveraging his tremendous test knowledge base retained from his time at Honda, Mark quickly expanded Remington’s ability to properly vet designs with updated testing methodology and equipment. Being Six-Sigma Black Belt trained, Mark adapted the tools to shape tests for quality and efficiency, yielding better results in less time. Along the way, Mark was able to establish many standard operating procedures for the Research and Development division as well as setting testing standards, resource planning, and schedule management.
While still working as a test engineer, Mark was called upon to be the design engineer to complete the design for the .30 AR rifle. In this role he ultimately designed the magazine and the bolt head, ensuring reliable operation. For this, Mark was awarded the Remington 2010 New Product Introduction Award. This experience helped him transition into his next role. Upon Remington’s re-entrance into handguns, Mark became a key member of the Handgun Development Team, leading the design team of Remington’s first new auto-loading handgun in over 50 years. As a student of the industry, Mark developed a close relationship with Remington’s Marketing Division, becoming one of the go-to technical liaisons for the strategic business planning teams. He coordinated the building of displays and sample firearms for use at trade shows by the marketing team. Having had a hand in testing and designing virtually every product, firearm and ammunition alike, released from 2004-2013, Mark gained a broad spectrum of experience across the industry while with Remington.
In 2013, Mark chose to re-enter the automotive industry as a Plant Vehicle Team engineer for Ford Motor Company’s Louisville Assembly Plant where the Ford Escape and Lincoln MKC are produced. As a member of the Product Development division for chassis components, he was responsible for responding to any early service warranty claims, containing and coordinating corrective action for supplier or plant quality issues, coordinating and evaluating production trials of design changes, and providing technical support for assembly issues and continuous improvement initiatives. Additionally, Mark was the plant’s lead chassis engineer for the launch of the Lincoln MKC, a completely new model released for the 2016 model year. In this role, he was responsible for supporting pre-production trial builds and interfacing with design and manufacturing engineering.
After 2 ½ years with Ford, Mark joined ADG full-time in November 2015. Mark is one of the original founders of ADG. Mark has managed the contract engineering services at ADG since his arrival and played a significant role in the release of over 9 complete firearms designs and over 60 firearm product improvements that have been introduced to the industry by over 50 different firearm companies that you likely know. During his time at ADG, Mark has also developed ADG’s internal CNC machining and prototyping capability into its own business unit. Specializing in producing quality prototype components in compressed timelines.
Currently, Mark is an avid clays shooter, 3-Gun competitor, and hunter. He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, United States Practical Shooting Association, and a Lifetime member of the National Rifle Association.
Gregory A. Dennison
VP Caseline Product Development – Caseline Operations
Greg has made his mark on the shooting industry in many areas over the last 25 years. As a member of his high school’s USMC JROTC program, Greg developed an interest in the shooting sports through smallbore 4-position competition. Greg led the team his senior year and helped whet his appetite for things to come in the precision shooting world. Building on his natural mechanical ability and keen eye for design, Greg pursued a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Louisville Speed Scientific School. As he progressed through school, his interest in ballistics grew, leading him to a cooperative internship at the Naval Ordnance Station – Louisville with the Advanced Gun Weapon Systems Technology Program. Naval Ordnance Station helped shape Greg into one of the country’s foremost experts in computer simulation of interior ballistics and large gun barrel design. Between the development of a high-performance muzzle brake and a 155mm Liquid Propellant gun, Greg completed both his Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree and his Master of Mechanical Engineering degree with his thesis, “Design Modification and Optimization of the Interior Ballistics for an Existing Naval Gun”.
When Remington opened a Research and Development Center near Greg’s hometown in 1995, he saw an opportunity to return to small arms and ammunition design. Joining the Ammunition Development Team, over the next 13 years, Greg proved instrumental in the revitalization of Remington’s ammunition line. Greg held lead roles in ammunition programs such as the .260 Remington, the Remington Ultra Mag and Short Action Ultra Mag families, .17 Fireball, 6.8 SPC, and Remington AccuTip Slugs. From the initial concept to commercial packaging at the ammunition plant, Greg amassed unparalleled knowledge and application of ammunition process development, tooling design, and load development. With this vast array of experiences, he became an industry expert in interior, exterior, and terminal ballistics.
Greg’s experience working with military and government entities, as well as his success in designing extremely accurate long-range cartridges, made him a natural fit as one of the two initial engineers designated for defense development within Remington. Greg’s talented effort resulted in the development of the Modular Sniper Rifle and the M2010 for the U.S. Army. With a deep understanding of the interaction between rifle and cartridge systems, Greg was also a key player in winning the USSOCOM Precision Sniper Rifle contract (MK 21) for Remington Defense along with its tailored .338 Lapua Magnum load, the MK 330 Mod 0. Other efforts while working for Remington Defense include, but are not limited to, a M203 grenade launcher and M26 shotgun mount for the Individual Carbine variant of the ACR, an improved 9mm AR-based SMG, and research for DARPA’s EXACTO program.
Departing Remington in 2013 for new opportunities, Greg further leveraged and developed his unique experience as Director of Shooting Solutions for TrackingPoint, working with highly advanced Precision Guided Firearm integrated systems consisting of the firearm, ammunition, electro-optical range-finding scope, and electro-mechanical fire control. Managing a team of engineers and technicians, Greg was responsible for selecting the base firearms for all platforms, developing the business relationships with firearm and ammunition partners and serving the company as the subject matter expert in interior and exterior ballistics.
While an original founder of ADG, he joined as the Caseline Technical Director in July of 2015. Since then, Greg has optimized the production equipment to meet the strict quality and consistency standards of ADG to produce rifle cartridge brass that has no equal in the industry. Using ADG’s proprietary production equipment, Greg has developed over 30 different rifle cartridge case designs that consistently out-perform our competitors with regards to longevity and accuracy.