London, UK – 31st March– Global protection brand, D3O/Delta Three Oscar, 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.
His background in military and professional-grade equipment gives him a strong understanding of the operational requirements, certification standards and procurement procedures that define modern defence markets.
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 outgoing 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 with him extensive expertise in brand development and international expansion and is ideally positioned to lead D3O through its next phase of strategic growth and global scaling, bringing with him a wealth of relevant experience across defence and law enforcement and a vast industry network.
“D3O is a market-leading brand with significant global growth potential, particularly within defence, law enforcement and military applications.” Said Bazil. “The company’s ballistic arm, Delta Three Oscar has a well-established customer base, and is trusted by many of the world’s most elite defence organisations including the US Army, UK Special Forces and tactical teams across NATO countries. There is huge potential to grow the brand exponentially and I am looking forward to driving this expansion.”
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 likes of the US Army, Formula One race teams, Adidas 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 Matthieuand 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 onits mission of developing the world’s best protection technology, giving its users the subconscious advantage of knowing they are protected by the best.
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