April 20, 2022

This paid piece is sponsored by Silencer Central.

There was a time when Brandon Maddox essentially ran Silencer Central by himself.

But his startup definitely has scaled up, becoming a firearms industry leader, and with it comes the need to surround the CEO with a leadership team focused on the future.

“We’ve been fortunate to attract outstanding leaders from within the Sioux Falls business community and beyond,” Maddox said. “The talent on this team makes me excited for how our company is going to continue to evolve.”

Here’s what several members of the team had to say about their recent career moves.

Chief operating officer: Brandon May

A Minnesota native, Brandon May has spent his career in health care. He attended Minnesota State University of Moorhead and University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, earning a Bachelor of Healthcare Administration and an MBA.

Why change career fields? “I joined Silencer Central to be part of something unique here in Sioux Falls,” he said.

“To be part of an organization that has grown locally, but scales and reaches customers in 42 states. To have the ability to recruit and retain some of the best talent in Sioux Falls and put not only Silencer Central on the map for the silencer industry, but to highlight Sioux Falls as a great place to grow professionally and personally. Plus, I’m passionate about the outdoors and never thought I’d find a role that would allow me to put that to work.”

What does your role involve?

My role has oversight over our operations, customer service, warehouse shipping/receiving and compliance. A big focus of my team is the overall customer experience. When we say we make it easy to buy a silencer, that lands directly on our operations team that moves our customers throughout the process.

What do you most enjoy about your job?

The people and culture. Working in a fast-paced environment in a growing company with great people that are invested in the success of the company that Brandon Maddox created.

 What are you most looking forward to about your role in 2022?

I’m looking forward to creating an environment and building a team that creates a foundation that makes Silence Central a destination employer and an organization whose foundation is built upon our commitment to creating an awesome customer and employee experience. One of the things that attracted me to this role is the ability to make a direct impact on building a culture and structure of a startup like company that so fundamental to who I am.

What would you say to others considering joining the Silencer Central team?

If you’re looking for an opportunity to have a direct impact into a startup company, then Silencer Central is the place for you. If you’ve wanted to be part of a winning culture and a team that is focused on delivering an exceptional experience, then look no further!

 Director of operations: Maggie Jelen

Maggie Jelen hails from Howard and like others on the leadership team has vast experience in the health care field. A graduate of Northern State University, Dakota State University and National American University, her career has included experience in medical records, home health, hospice and IT. She even spent seven years in the funeral business.

At Silencer Central, “I’m excited for the opportunity to help bring operational processes and structure to the operations area for a better employee and customer service experience as the company grows at a rapid pace,” she said. “The ‘team’ focus will allow us to continue to grow and make great changes.”

What does your role involve? 

Developing and deploying operational processes for overall quality and workflow efficiencies, while working to align process and output to organizational goals and strategy.

What do you most enjoy about your job? 

The people! This is a great team of people who ultimately have the same goal: to provide great service to our customers and this company.

What would you say to others considering joining the Silencer Central team? 

Hold on tight, and let’s go! The culture and environment are moving and changing rapidly. Employees are valued, and we have the ability to be part of something that is exciting and impactful.

Director of accounting: Travis Svennes

Travis Svennes has spent the past 17 years in Sioux Falls, building both a career and a family that includes five children. The native of Toronto, which is northeast of Brookings, earned a bachelor’s degree from Kaplan University Online and has worked in insurance and health care IT.

“Growing up in South Dakota, I have always enjoyed hunting,” he said. “When I learned of an opportunity to join a growing local company in the firearms industry, I couldn’t pass it up.”

What does your role involve?

I lead the accounting team to ensure financial transactions are processed correctly and the financial results of the company are reported accurately to internal and external parties.

What do you most enjoy about your job?

I really enjoy developing a team and finding process improvements to allow the accounting team to scale with the business. I like to make financial performance data more readily available to allow the business to be more nimble.

What would you say to others considering joining the Silencer Central team?

We move quickly as an organization to serve our customers well. There are a lot of opportunities to grow with a growing organization.

 Director of sales: Shane Slaughter

Shane Slaughter brings 30 years of sales experience to his role, including in the computer hardware, medical imaging and medical device industries.

A native of South Sioux City, Nebraska, and graduate of Briar Cliff University, his family of five moved to Sioux Falls in 2006.

He was drawn to his role at Silencer Central by “the opportunity to work for a local company that’s one of South Dakota’s fastest growing and has become a leader in its industry,” he said. “Being an outdoor enthusiast, it was a perfect match.”

What does your role involve? 

My primary objective is to oversee the planning and execution of the sales strategy aimed at driving revenue growth. This involves establishing goals and metrics to drive sales while managing and building out the sales organization as demand in our products continues to increase – all while providing the best customer experience possible.

What do you most enjoy about your job? 

Playing a part in our employees’ success, both personally and professionally. In addition, the challenges that accompany a leadership position and solving for them. This has allowed me to work cross-functionally to become a more informed leader instead of just living in the sales silo.

What would you say to others considering joining the Silencer Central team? 

If joining a fast-paced, rapidly growing company in the hunting/shooting industry sounds like something you would enjoy, it’s right here in Sioux Falls!

Director of financial planning and analysis: Grant Wall

Grant Wall most recently served as director of finance at Sanford Health, building on a career in accounting and finance that includes receiving a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Northwestern College and an MBA from the University of South Dakota.

The Minnesota native has worked in health care, banking and financial services in Sioux Falls.

“At Sanford, I really enjoyed the size and complexity of the organization and the opportunity to collaborate with senior executives on projects,” he said.

“At Silencer, I’m excited to bring value by helping inform decision-making. My past experience with large and complex organizations translates well because Silencer is rapidly changing and becoming more sophisticated. During the interview process, it was clear my skills and experience would benefit the organization the right way.”

What does your role involve?

In short, I provide both financial and nonfinancial information to decision-makers in the organization.

A big part of my work will be to formulate budgets and forecasts, track how we perform compared to those standards and provide data of all kinds to help answer management questions.

What do you most enjoy about your job?

I enjoy adding value to an organization thirsty for data to help inform decisions, and that’s what I get to do on a daily basis at Silencer Central. I also enjoy working alongside a leadership team with great energy, ideas and experience.

What are you most looking forward to about your role in 2022?

Part of what attracted me to the job is that it provides me with the chance to capitalize on my various experiences by implementing the FP&A (financial planning and analysis) function from the ground up. Implementing financial planning processes and tools that are new to the organization will be a big part of my role in the coming year.

What would you say to others considering joining the Silencer Central team?

There is opportunity at Silencer Central to make an impact, no matter your role, and at Silencer Central we have a winning mentality: to offer best-in-class products and service.

Director of marketing: Terra Vennard

A Mitchell native, Terra Vennard has assumed a variety of marketing leadership roles in the Sioux Falls area since graduating from Dakota State University. She most recently served as director of marketing at Profile and previously held the same tole at Vern Eide Motorcars.

“I love working in fast-paced environments, and Silence Central is the epitome of that,” she said. “I get to work in an industry with some really unique complexities that make traditional marketing not always feasible, but I am always up for a good challenge to solve. In addition, my experience in project management has helped bring some structure to the controlled chaos that a rapidly growing company can have.”

What does your role involve?

My role is to lead the marketing department in executing the best strategies to increase brand recognition throughout our market segment while assisting lead generation for the enterprise.

What do you most enjoy about your job?

Every day flies by. The number of projects, the challenges to tackle and the opportunity at our fingertips keep every day a new book to open.

What are you most looking forward to about your role in 2022?

2022 has a major focus on marketing and growth. We are announcing two new celebrity endorsers, a national media buy, as well as two new product launches, which makes the opportunities endless for the team at Silencer Central. Overall, I’m excited about the growth that these opportunities will bring us.

What would you say to others considering joining the Silencer Central team?

The opportunities available at Silencer Central are endless. There really is a mindset of growth and excitement every day you come to work. If you want to be part of a growing company with an exciting future, this is the place to be!

Are you ready to consider joining the team at Silencer Central? Click here to learn more about available opportunities.

Fast-growing Silencer Central in hiring mode as nationwide reach expands