London, UK – 31st March– Global protection brand, D3O, today announces the appointment of Matthieu Bazil as Chief Executive Officer, effective 1 April 2026, following the retirement of incumbent CEO Stuart Sawyer.
Bazil joins D3O as an experienced global CEO with a strong track record of building and scaling brands across a variety of industries including sportswear, 2 wheel and defence. His previous roles include President and CEO of 2 Ride Group, home to leading protection brands including Shark, Nolan, Troy Lee Designs and Bering; and President and CEO of Aqualung Group, a global leader in recreational, military and professional diving equipment. He also held senior executive leadership roles at Fox Racing, a D3O partner and leading brand in motocross and mountain bike equipment.
The transition of the CEO role comes at a time when D3O's innovation pipeline is full, with exciting new applications ready to launch and the business and brand foundations are primed for significant expansion.
Over the coming months, Bazil will work closely with business founder and current CEO Stuart Sawyer to ensure a seamless leadership transition. After 15 years of establishing and building D3O into the world's leading protection company, Sawyer is retiring as CEO and will join the Board of D3O with Investors Elysian Capital as a Non-Executive Director.
Bazil brings extensive expertise in brand development, international distribution and technical product innovation, positioning him strongly to continue to accelerate D3O's growth across the mountain bike and 2-wheel market.
"D3O is a market-leading brand with significant global growth potential across the bike industry. It has a well-established customer base, a highly skilled team and a compelling innovation pipeline as well as a product portfolio trusted by many of the world's leading mountain bike brands and riders." Said Bazil "I'm excited by the D3O brand and its excellent reputation and I am keen to build on this strong momentum by continuing to scale the business internationally."
Under Sawyer's leadership, D3O has grown from a small UK based start-up to global SME head-quartered in London with operating offices in the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia. During this time Sawyer has successfully seen the business through three private equity investments and the supply of the D3O technology to leading global brands that include the US Army, Formula One race teams, Adidas, Fox, Troy Lee Designs, Scott Sports and Harley Davidson.
Stuart Sawyer commented: "It has been an extraordinary privilege to build D3O over the past 15 years and to see our technology adopted across so many industries and applications around the world. I am incredibly proud of the team we have built and the innovation and energy they bring and how we have grown and diversified the business. With these strong foundations and an exciting development pipeline in place, I am delighted to handover the reigns to Matthieu and believe he is the right leader to take D3O into its next chapter of growth and international expansion."
Mike Brown, Partner at Elysian Capital, D3O's private equity investor, also acknowledged Sawyer's contribution and welcomed Bazil's appointment: "Stuart has done an exceptional job building D3O into the world-leading protection company it is today. His vision, entrepreneurial drive and commitment to innovation have created a resilient and high-growth business. We are excited to welcome Matthieu to D3O and look forward to supporting him as the company enters its next phase of development and international expansion."
With this leadership transition, D3O will continue to build on its mission of developing the world's best protection technology, giving its users the subconscious advantage of knowing they are protected by the best.
About D3O
D3O® is the global leader in protection against impact, shock and vibration. Working with world-class brands including Formula One teams, adidas, the U.S. Department of Defense, and NASA. D3O provides protective solutions across multiple industries, from mountain bike, sports and motorcycling to defence and consumer electronics. The company has trademarked the colour orange for the exclusive use in protection for motorcycle gear, reinforcing its position as the industry's most trusted ingredient brand.
