Jon Rydberg

Chief Executive Officer

Formerly: Smith & Wesson, Retail Technology Group (RTG / AXIS), Gearfire Payments, Ernst & Young, Protiviti, Ticket Network and United Technologies Corporation

Sample FFL Customers: SCCY Firearms, RemArms, Big 5 Sporting Goods, Adventure Outdoors, Poway Range, Bill’s Gun Shop, North 40 Outfitters, Pawn America, Davidson’s / Gallery of Guns, Sports South, Palmetto State Armory, CZ-USA, SilencerCo, Frontier Justice, Black Wing, Big Rock Sports, and hundreds of others.

Jon Rydberg has served as Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Orchid LLC holdings since September 2012. For a portion of this time, he also served as CEO and a financier of the Retail Technology Group. For the last ten years he has been focused on the shooting sports industry where he was an executive at Smith & Wesson Holding Corp and a strategic advisor to FFLs across the U.S. At present, his holdings provide Retail POS software, Manufacturing ERP software, eCommerce applications, integrated FFL compliance software, credit card processing and FFL services delivered via the industry’s largest firearm compliance firm.

Previously, Mr. Rydberg was the Chief Marketing Officer of Ticket Network, the 2nd largest online ticket marketplace in the United States. Mr. Rydberg also served as a Managing Director at Protiviti and a Group Manager at Ernst & Young LLP. In the capacity of an executive advisor, Mr. Rydberg helped numerous Fortune 500 companies build stronger supply chain and manufacturing operations through automation and process control. He is known for his expertise in ERP technology, inventory management, process automation and financial and regulatory process control. Mr. Rydberg is the author of several works dedicated to supply chain management, Sarbanes-Oxley, FFL / ATF firearm compliance and he is also the founder of the Firearm Industry Conference.

Michelle Rydberg

Chief Operating Officer

Formerly: Retail Technology Group, Gearfire Payments, Gearfire, Disney / ESPN, Latham & Watkins, Bank of America, and Cigna Financial Services

Sample FFL Customers: Primary Arms, CZ-USA, Smith & Wesson, EZ-Pawn, Sportsman’s Finest, Frontier Justice, Bi-Mart, and Remington, Big Rock Sports, SilencerCo, Henry Repeating Arms, LL Bean, Gander Mountain and many others.

Michelle has over 20 years of experience in finance, accounting and technology. Previously, Michelle served as the Chief Marketing Officer of the Retail Technology Group , Outdoor Payment Solutions (DBA Gearfire Payments) and Gearfire LLC.

Michelle is also the country’s foremost expert at performing software-driven ATF compliance and electronic A&D / Bound Book evaluations for FFLs, with over 65 million transactions to-date. Her FFL diagnostics include the regulations, processes and systems which drive firearm manufacturing (including NFA), firearm engineering and product master data, customer and vendor FFL master data, firearm transfers (via shipping and receiving), firearm loans (per 2010-1) and import / export transactions, including the ATF Form 6 / 6a. Michelle’s assessments have also included major firearm operating systems such as Epicor, SAP, Oracle and many others.

Attorney Philip Milks

Senior Vice President of Regulatory Services

Formerly: Remington Outdoor Company LLC, National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF)

Sample FFL Customers: Brownell’s, Smith & Wesson, Weatherby, Daniel Defense, Trufire Range / Centennial Gun Club, Rock Island Auction, Sportsman’s Guide, Traditions Firearms, Savage Arms, KG Made, Geissele, CZ-USA, FN America and hundreds of others.

Phil is an attorney and was formerly employed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and Remington Outdoor Company (ROC). While at Remington, Phil served his executive peers as the leader of ROC’s corporate compliance function, which included ATF, Import, and Export (ITAR and EAR). Phil played a key role in advising ROC and its subcontract manufacturers in the development of ammunition, suppressors, polymer pistols, modern sporting rifles and imported shotguns. Phil gained relevant legal and regulatory experience facilitating the acquisition of manufacturing entities, the move of major manufacturing facilities to the southern U.S. and implementing SAP as a leading ERP system.

Today, Phil plays a key role in helping clients prepare for ATF inspections and defending their FFL against ATF Revocations. He is a subject matter expert in firearm classifications, GCA / NFA regulations, state firearm laws and all matters related to firearm compliance.

Leland Nichols

Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer

Formerly: Smith & Wesson, Remington Arms Company, Shadow Systems, USA Shooting, Rinnai, Airhead Sports Group, Aqua-Leisure Recreation, LLC, Black & Decker, The Stanley Works, Kohler

Sample FFL Customers: Smith & Wesson, Remington Outdoor Company, Bushmaster Firearms, DPMS, Para Ordnance, Barnes Bullets, Magpul Industries Corp., Mec-Gar, Walther Arms, Shadow Systems, Advanced Armament, Baron Engraving, Barrett Firearms, Davidson’s, Lipsey’s, Sports South, Iron Valley Supply, Camfour, Big Rock Sports, RSR Group, Zanders, Armchar Wholesale, Bill Hick’s, Chattanooga Shooting Suppliers, Gunarama Wholesale, North Sylva Company, Shoot Straight, Vance’s Outdoors, H&H Gun Range, Sports World, Hoffman’s, Dunham’s, Duncan’s Outdoor Shop, Adventure Outdoors, Larry’s Pistol & Pawn, Black Wing Shooting Center, Franklin’s Gun Shop, Kittery Trading Post, Bass Pro Shops / Cabela’s, Gander Outdoors, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Academy Sports + Outdoors, Silver Bullet Firearms and many more.

Leland served in the residential and commercial construction products market from 1984 through 2004 in executive roles including Vice President, Product Management, Professional Power Tools for Black & Decker where he led the launch of the DeWalt portable power tool brand in North America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. His experience also includes roles as President, Stanley Hardware, Executive Vice President, Kohler Company and Vice President, Sales & Business Development with Rinnai America.

Leland began his career in outdoor recreation / hunting / shooting products with Smith & Wesson from 2005 – 2011 as President and Chief Operating Officer. Under his leadership, S&W successfully developed and launched the M&P pistol and M&P rifle product range. Following his tenure with S&W, he served at Remington Outdoor Company from 2012 – 2017 as Vice President and General Manger for Firearms and Accessories. Most recently, prior to Orchid Advisors, Leland led Airhead Sports Group as the President and Chief Executive Officer executing a doubling of EBITDA and a successful sales transaction as the company was acquired by Aqua Leisure Recreation and Blackford Capital. He is a strong advocate of the 2nd Amendment and enjoys a broad range of outdoor recreational actives including competitive shooting, hunting, boating and motor sports.

Jason Knowles

Director of Export Services

Practice Areas: Firearm Export (ITAR, EAR, OFAC, CBP)

Formerly: United States Air Force, U.S. State Department, DDTC

Sample FFL Customers: Colt, TXAT, CZ-USA, Leapers, Kimber, Profense, Norma Precision, LMT Defense, Brownell’s and many others

As a former DDTC Senior Defense Trade Control Analyst, a U.S. Air Force retired combat veteran, and a U.S. Export Control and Compliance consultant across multiple industries, Jason brings an uncommon depth of ITAR and EAR understanding, awareness of related U.S. government processing, military applications, and an ability to span, connect, and implement strategy to task and back across business activities related to U.S. regulatory export control and compliance.

While with the State Department, Jason reviewed and audited ITAR export applications with a combined value of over $42.5 Billion for approval and/or compliance. He renovated ITAR Agreement analyst training and improved ITAR Agreement analyst review processes and tools. Also, Jason frequently spoke on behalf of the U.S. government to U.S. and foreign government officials and industry groups and individuals.

Since departing the DDTC, and in addition to providing ITAR control, compliance, authorization advice and other DDTC engagement services, he has developed EAR and BIS-related expertise to expert levels so to support multi-jurisdictional control, compliance, and export authorization strategy development, assist with implementing those strategies, and in the development, assessment, and improvement of compliance programs. Jason’s experiences and expertise include the ITAR, EAR, OFAC and export related elements of U.S. Customs and Border Protection processes.

Tim Duffy

Principal, Export Services

Practice Areas: Firearm Export (ITAR, EAR, AECA)

Formerly: U.S. Army, U.S. State Department, DDTC

Prior to joining Orchid, Tim served at the Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) Licensing office as the GS-15 Division Chief for the Space, Missile and Sensor Division, specializing primarily in oversight of licensing and agreement for U.S. Munitions Categories IV, V, XII. In this role, he created office practices for adjudication, trained newly assigned officers and directed the activities of seven Licensing Officers in the issuance of ITAR licenses for export and import of Defense Articles, as well as providing general assistance to the defense trade industry. Most notably, Tim contributed to the newly-published DDTC Compliance Guide and was frequently called upon by the Department of Justice to opine on possible export violations and testify as an expert Government witness at trial.

In his final military assignment prior to retiring after a 32-year military career, Tim was a Senior Defense Analyst and Political/Military Affairs Officer assigned to DDTC, where he was the most experienced military officer performing and directing regulatory analysis and adjudication of requests for export authorization under the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), and International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR). During his tenure as a member of the Electronics and Training Division, Tim audited and adjudicated over 2,000 Technical Assistance & Manufacturing Licensing Agreements, Warehouse Distribution Agreements, Export and Defense Service Licenses, and General Correspondence submissions. Owing to his expertise, he was routinely called upon to advise regulatory offices in policy development, and to opine in compliance investigations for alleged ITAR violations and their remediation. Tim was DDTC’s primary subject matter expert on the Agreements process, often called upon to present Licensing policy and practice to U.S. Government bodies, domestic exporters and foreign industry, and was recognized by the Department of State for Superior performance in 2017.

Prior to joining DDTC, Tim held a myriad of leading management positions and roles throughout the Army and the Department of Defense. In these assignments, he was responsible for assessing performance and effectiveness of organizational policy, process, procedure and structure through rational measurement of key metrics, and conceiving and implementing documented organizational change.

Jeremy Crick

Chief Revenue Officer, Orchid Pay^TM

Formerly: Iron Triangle Payment Systems, National Processing Company

Formerly: SilencerCo, Taurus, Pinnacle Sports, Recoil Gunworks, Chandler Tactical, Ares State Armory, SS Outfitters, YHM and many others

Jeremy has over 10 years of experience where he has worked with some of the largest payment processing providers in the county. He began his payments career at Iron Triangle Payment Systems (ITPS) followed by the National Processing Company. Jeremy has held various positions from Sales to Management in electronic payments and has worked with a number of firearm merchants including retail, eCommerce and manufacturing FFLs. Jeremy has successfully negotiated or renegotiated merchant processing rates and terms and conditions for thousands of businesses across the country saving millions in processing fees to small business owners. Jeremy now leads the sales and implementation efforts for Orchid Pay^TM which is focused on credit card processing for the shooting sports industry.

Chris Ziegler

Chief Product Officer, Orchid Pay^TM