The announcement of Andrews’ new role comes three months after he quit as chief executive of USA Weightlifting following nine successful years in charge.

Andrews is due to start the new role on August 16, taking the helm from Jack Gierhart, who had been acting as interim chief executive since December 2021.

He had replaced Kris Ekeren, who announced in September that she was leaving the organisation after eight years at the helm.

The Colorado Springs-based USA Fencing saw growth in membership and visibility during her tenure, but the governing body was embroiled in controversy over sexual abuse of athletes, including a decision to allow an athlete to compete at the re-arranged Olympic Games in Tokyo last year who had been accused of sexual assault.

Andrews had also held an executive role at the International Weightlifting Federation for six months in 2020, something which helped him clinch his new position from a field of a dozen candidates.

"Even among this impressive group of leaders, Phil Andrews clearly stood out," David Arias, chair of USA Fencing’s Board of Directors, said.

"Phil impressed us with the experience he brings as a successful executive director of another national governing body.

"What set him apart was the insightful questions he asked, his approach to problem-solving, his desire to build relationships at all levels of our sport, the importance he places on inclusiveness and athlete safety, and the specific ideas he shared related to the growth of USA Fencing."

The British-born Andrews, a former ice hockey player, plans to spend his first months with USA Fencing visiting clubs of all sizes throughout the fencing community.

"I'd like to encourage members and stakeholders to reach out and have a conversation about their experience of the sport, of USA Fencing and what they would like to see," Andrews said.

"As a CEO, the job is really to listen to and understand what the membership and stakeholders bring to the table.

"I know from experience that the strongest solutions to how to move a sport forward come from those who know the sport the best - the members.

"That’s the reason to be so interactive with the leadership."

Andrews’ listening journey is set to begin even before he officially starts as chief executive next month.

He plans to visit Summer Nationals, USA Fencing’s largest event, this July in Minneapolis to meet with members and better understand how he can best support their journey.

"I want to build on the good work going on already among the staff and move USA Fencing to a place where we are seen as really valuable to each member, each club, each official, each coach," Andrews said.

"Ultimately, it’s about putting this movement and our members in a place to succeed."

Andrews main goal will be making sure that American fencers are competitive when the Summer Olympics returns to the United States for the first time in 32 years at Los Angeles 2028.

The US has won a total of 33 Olympic medals in fencing, four of them gold, including Lee Kiefer’s victory in the individual women’s foil at Tokyo 2020.

"Fencing is one of the cornerstone Olympic and Paralympic sports," Andrews said.

"And USA Fencing is clearly on an upward trajectory.

"Being able to come in and build on that is important, especially as we work toward encouraging more people to pick up a fencing weapon - utilising the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games as a great opportunity for growth."