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Mark DeYoung, an avid shooter, hunter and outdoorsman, has been named president and CEO of ATK. The 51-year-old MBA came to ATK in 1995 after working at Hercules Powder, manufacturer of 2400, Blue Dot and other longtime standbys of reloaders.
DeYoung is now the chief executive of what I will venture to say is the biggest company in the shooting industry. With sales of $4.8 billion and 18,000 employees in 22 states, ATK is much larger than many people realize.
ATK’s other business units include rockets, aerospace, advanced munitions and space propulsion. Yes, it does take “rocket science” to keep ATK moving forward.
DeYoung previously led ATK’s Armament Systems group as president of the company’s largest business entity where he led the group’s expansion from approximately $600 million of revenue in 2003, to a projected $2.1 billion in revenue for 2010. That’s the sort of “rocket science” that gets attention.
“The Board of Directors reviewed a select group of outstanding and highly qualified internal and external candidates,” said Gen. Ron Fogleman (ret.), chairman of the board. “Mark emerged as the most qualified to lead the company. His breadth of experience across ATK’s core businesses, his strategic vision, results-driven leadership style and focus on delivering long-term shareholder value will position our company for continued success in the years to come.”
DeYoung has demonstrated his command of “lean” manufacturing initiatives and modernization efforts that produced greater margins and improvements within Armament Systems. Through aggressive acquisition and organic growth into adjacent markets, Armament Systems expanded into commercial ammunition, the tactical accessories market, and international markets for non-standard ammunition and medium-caliber gun systems.
“I am honored to become ATK’s CEO,” said DeYoung.”Our company is already a leading force in aerospace, defense, and commercial markets. We will build and expand on that success.
“We have an outstanding, dedicated workforce that consistently delivers our company’s unique and extremely competitive brand of affordable innovation. We will continue to focus on performance and execution, expanding into new markets and delivering on our programs of record while strengthening both top-line and bottom-line results. ATK is a company making a difference and I look forward to helping make a great company become even better.”