COLO SPRGS, CO (Nov. 16, 2022) –USA Shooting is pleased to announce the hiring of a new Chief Executive Officer, Craig Kozeniesky, a retired Marine Corps Colonel, who will assume duties in early January of 2023.
Kozeniesky served in the Marine Corps for 27 years and is a combat veteran of Desert Storm, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Kozeniesky has also been connected with USA Shooting for over 10 years, most notably in relation to his son, Lucas, who is a Tokyo 2020 Silver Olympic Medalist in 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team.
“I am honored and humbled to join the leadership team at USA Shooting, an organization that I have been associated with since 2009 when my son started on his path to shooting excellence as a novice shooter,” said Kozeniesky. “As a career military officer, I see this opportunity as an extension of service to this great nation.”
USMC (Retired) Colonel Craig Kozeniesky is the new CEO for USA Shooting.
Kozeniesky is relocating to Colorado Springs, Colorado, and will be hitting the ground running as the CEO next year.
“As chairman of the board, I consider it an esteemed honor to welcome Colonel Craig Kozeniesky to the helm of our organization,” said Chad Whittenburg, chairman of the USA Shooting Board and president of the USA Shooting Federation. “Colonel Kozeniesky is a proven leader in the shooting industry and the Marine Corps, both in and out of combat.”
Kozeniesky’s notable military career includes infantry, reconnaissance, and joint special operations assignments. Since his military retirement, Kozeniesky has worked at the Nevada Secretary of State Office as the Deputy Secretary for Operations and in U.S. government contracting. Most recently, he has been Vice President of Development for PrairieFire, a start-up in the shooting sports, training, and destinations sectors.
“I am looking forward to building on the successes of our Olympic and Paralympic teams as we move towards Paris 2024, expanding our development pipeline across all disciplines, increasing our engagement with member clubs at all levels, and gaining support and backing from the vast U.S. shooting sports community,” said Kozeniesky. “
USA Shooting’s temporary CEO team has been formally dissolved. Brent McPherson will serve as interim CEO and Alex Szablewski will serve as interim COO until January of 2023 when Kozeniesky officially starts his role.
“We had numerous quality candidates for the position of CEO, and I want to publicly thank all of those who responded,” said Whittenburg. “The results of our search yielded a true leader who is passionate about USA Shooting and who will work tirelessly to achieve the mission.”