Brian Murphy Built American Outdoor Brands Through Two Decades of Deals

Brian D. Murphy has led American Outdoor Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: AOUT) as President and Chief Executive Officer since the company's spinoff from Smith & Wesson Brands, and he has sat on its board from day one. That spinoff ended a decade-long climb through the outdoor products side of the old Smith & Wesson organization. It also handed Murphy a standalone public company to run.

His record before the top job reads like a deliberate apprenticeship in deals, finance and outdoor products. Each role added a specific tool. Each move came with a date.

Where did Murphy start in finance?

From May 2006 until October 2010, Murphy worked as an investment banker at Houlihan Lokey, the publicly held advisory firm. There he advised companies on strategy, acquisitions, divestitures, recapitalizations and restructuring, according to his published profile. Four years of deal advisory built the foundation.

He then moved to the corporate side. From April 2011 until March 2013, he held various management roles at McMaster-Carr Supply Company, a supplier of maintenance, repair and operations materials to industrial and commercial facilities worldwide. McMaster-Carr gave him operating experience inside a large industrial distributor.

How did he enter the outdoor and defense sector?

The next step was Alliant Techsystems, an aerospace, defense and outdoor sporting goods company. From April 2013 until February 2015, Murphy served there as Director of Mergers & Acquisitions and Director of Financial Planning & Analysis. Two titles at once: he both bought companies and planned their numbers.

Vista Outdoor followed. From February 2015 until December 2016, Murphy was Vice President of Corporate Development at the publicly held designer, manufacturer and marketer of outdoor sports and recreation products. Corporate development at Vista meant more acquisitions in the exact category he now runs.

What did he do at Smith & Wesson?

Murphy joined Smith & Wesson Brands in December 2016 as President of its Outdoor Recreation Division. He held that post until May 2017, when the company collapsed those activities into a new unit called Outdoor Products & Accessories. Murphy then led the combined division as its President from May 2017 to January 2020.

In January 2020, Smith & Wesson elevated him to Co-President and Co-Chief Executive Officer. He served in that dual role until the spinoff that created American Outdoor Brands. At the split, Murphy took the President and CEO titles at the new company and a seat on its board of directors.

The interview, conducted for the TWST CEO series on November 13, 2026, opens with a company refresher and major milestones. Murphy's biography itself supplies the arc.

Why does the résumé matter for AOUT investors?

The pattern is simple. Murphy spent four years advising on deals at Houlihan Lokey, two years in operations at McMaster-Carr, then almost four years buying and planning at Alliant Techsystems and Vista Outdoor. He then spent nearly four years building and running Smith & Wesson's outdoor products division before taking the co-CEO seat and, finally, the standalone helm.

That background pairs acquisition experience with division-level operating control. A company carved out of a firearms parent, with a CEO whose career spans investment banking, industrial distribution, defense and outdoor consumer goods, carries a leadership profile built for portfolio reshaping. Investors tracking American Outdoor Brands can expect the deals playbook Murphy ran at Alliant, Vista and Smith & Wesson to remain part of how the company grows.