Marshall Lerner

Founder and Chief Executive Officer Primary Arms

Last Reviewed: September 29, 2026

Executive Summary

Marshall Lerner is founder and chief executive of Primary Arms, the Houston company that grew from a side business selling budget red dot sights into a group spanning optics manufacturing, online retail, wholesale and government sales. He started it around 2007-2008, while he owned a chain of barber shops, after noticing on firearms forums that buyers had no affordable alternative to expensive red dots. The optics business became Primary Arms Optics, which hand-inspects its products at the Houston headquarters. Around it he built retail, wholesale, and law enforcement and military channels. In January 2026 he brought in Matt Fleming as President to run across the business units, with Fleming reporting to him.

Career Highlights

• Founded Primary Arms around 2007-2008, starting in the back of one of his barber shops.
• Built the company into four business units: Primary Arms Optics, Primary Arms Online, Primary Arms Wholesale and Primary Arms Government.
• Appointed Matt Fleming as President, effective 5 January 2026, with Fleming reporting to him as Founder and CEO.
• Spoke on enterprise resource planning software and strategy for firearms businesses at the 2021 FFLGuard Virtual Symposium.

Professional Journey

Before Primary Arms, Lerner owned a chain of barber shops. In a 2012 interview with The Truth About Guns he described where the business came from. On the Glock Talk forums, shooters kept saying there was “no alternative if you want a red dot and you can’t afford the higher priced ones.” He started Primary Arms in the back of one of his barber shops to fill that gap. His brother, a business partner who had been sourcing electronics from China for the gaming industry, brought the manufacturing contacts.

The company describes itself as established in 2008 as an optics manufacturer, focused on affordable optics for AR-15s. It then widened its model. Primary Arms Online is the direct-to-consumer retail business. Primary Arms Wholesale supplies small retailers. Primary Arms Government serves law enforcement and military buyers. Optics remain the core, and Primary Arms Optics runs a new-product programme, including US-made pistol optics and long-range scopes shown at its Discovery 2025 event. The company says every optic is hand-inspected at its Houston headquarters.

Lerner has built out the senior team in recent years. That includes promoting Özge Cumberland to Chief Business Development Officer in 2023, a vice president of optics and a vice president of marketing in 2025, and a vice president of legal and compliance in August 2025. In January 2026 the company appointed Matt Fleming as President, to work with the leadership of all four business units and report to Lerner. Lerner stays Founder and CEO. Trade coverage emphasises his hands-on focus on operations and customer experience, and in 2021 he spoke at the FFLGuard Virtual Symposium on enterprise resource planning software and strategy for firearms businesses.

Education

No education record was found in a primary or first-party source.