Meet Our Founder & CEO

Anthony Imperato is a family man, businessman, and philanthropist. He leads the charge to make Henry Repeating Arms the best company in the firearms industry – and a company that would stand at the top in any industry.

As the CEO and Founder of Henry Repeating Arms, Anthony Imperato leads the company’s overall strategic vision with a proven track record backed by over 40 years of personal experience in the firearms industry. His introduction to the firearms industry started in 1978 when he began working in his family’s gun shop in downtown Manhattan. This face-to-face experience with customers in a retail setting would shape Imperato’s values for what Henry Repeating Arms would become.

Taking out a home equity loan in 1994, he launched the Colt Blackpowder Arms Company in Brooklyn, New York. In 1996 he founded Henry along with his father, Louis, and in March of 1997, the company shipped its first rifles. With Anthony at the helm, Henry Repeating Arms began to set itself apart with a leadership ethos of providing extraordinary customer service and manufacturing a high-quality American-made product. As other manufacturers moved their operations overseas, he doubled down on an obsessive focus on his company’s domestic production, authoring the company’s corporate motto “Made in America, or Not Made at All.”

Driven by a call to give back to his country, community, and those who serve them, Anthony formed the charitable branch of Henry Repeating Arms called Guns For Great Causes. Under its banner, the company has donated millions of dollars to the families of individual sick children, children’s hospitals, military veteran organizations, law enforcement and first responder organizations, wildlife and habitat conservation groups, 2nd Amendment advocacy groups, and organizations promoting America’s shooting sports traditions and responsible firearms ownership.

Under his guidance, with the support of a dedicated management team and hard-working staff, Henry has grown from 17 employees in 1996 to over 800 today. Manufacturing operations have expanded to 400,000 square feet across facilities in Rice Lake and Ladysmith, Wisconsin. Henry ranks in the Top 5 among all long-gun manufacturers, in the Top 10 among all firearms manufacturers, and is the leading lever-action manufacturer.

He has been recognized throughout his career for both his industry leadership and his philanthropic work, including honors from the National Rifle Association, the NYPD, the Boy Scouts of America, and law enforcement organizations across the country. A full list of awards appears below.