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THE TEAM

Who We Are

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Mission Statement
Leone Development is dedicated to exceptional quality and the creation of original designs that challenge conventional firearms technology.

 - R. Leone

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RUSS LEONE

"This is not what we do, it is how we live".

Co-Founder and CEO

Russ Leone is a co-founder and the Chief Executive Officer of Leone Development, LLC. He has a successful track record in manufacturing, general management and technical servicing with a Fortune 250 company in the forest products industry, and privately owned operations in the printing industry. 

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Russ’s career responsibilities were focused on process improvement and product development where he drove the logistics and customer requirements for the launch of new products and the oversight of product performance at world-class paper manufacturing facilities producing in excess of 1M tons of paper and $1.5B of annual revenue. 

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Prior to his tenure in paper manufacturing, Russ managed operations in the largest printing facility in one of the largest markets in the US, overseeing the production and delivery of $20M+ of annual output. 

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He has developed particular strengths in customer relationships, managing people for productivity improvement, equipment problem-solving and training—he developed and taught a printing course at Lower Columbia College in Longview, WA. 

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In Tandem with his career in printing and forest products, Russ has also operated privately-held companies in the firearms industry, which led him to obtain his federal firearms license in 1980. 

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His mechanical acumen and career engineering experience, coupled with his deep understanding of the technical aspects of firearms (acquired over decades) have led to the design, prototyping, patenting and production of the LEONE Barrel which was patented in May of 2018.

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MATTHEW B. RANK

Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer

Matt Rank is a co-founder and the Chief Operating Officer of Leone Development. He has an outstanding record in sales, marketing, general management and senior executive positions in both domestic and international operations.


At Boise Cascade (a fortune 250 forest products company), Matt held profit & loss responsibilities for multiple business units and managed annual revenue in excess of $500 million. 

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As a vice president for SIMCO Electronics (an independent, international high-tech metrology services company), he led domestic, Latin American and Asian operations. Prior to joining Leone Development, Matt served as the COO of a successful technology-enabled services startup providing web-based data, document and advanced analytic tools to financial institutions. 

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A native of Washington, D.C., Matt earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he attended on a football scholarship benefiting from the coaching of renown Hall of Fame leaders such as Norm Van Brocklin, Steve Spurrier, Pepper Rodgers and Bill Curry. He also holds a Master of Science degree in Management from Stanford University.

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