Rudy Project Strengthens North American Commitment With Direct Expansion and New General Manager

Rudy Project appoints Jaclyn Mayer as General Manager

Treviso, Italy and San Clemente, CA (June 26, 2026) - Rudy Project announces a new chapter for the brand in North America as the company officially transitions from its longtime independent distributorship model to direct ownership under Rudy Project S.p.A., headquartered in Italy.

Following the acquisition of Rudy Project North America earlier this year, the North American business now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Rudy Project S.p.A., reinforcing the company’s long-term investment in the U.S. and Canadian markets.

As part of this transition, Rudy Project has appointed Jaclyn Mayer as General Manager of Rudy Project North America, effective May 1, 2026.

Mayer joins Rudy Project following several leadership roles at Canyon Bicycles USA, where she most recently led retail, service, and customer experience initiatives across North America. Over her tenure, she played a key role in scaling Canyon’s customer-facing operations, service partnerships, event activations, and brand experience strategies during a period of significant growth.

“North America remains one of the most important strategic markets for Rudy Project,” said Cristiano Barbazza, President and CEO of Rudy Project S.p.A. “Bringing the business fully in-house allows us to operate with greater alignment, speed, and focus while investing more directly in our athletes, retail partners, and consumers. Jaclyn brings an exceptional combination of leadership, operational excellence, and customer-centric thinking that will help drive the next phase of growth.”

“This is an exciting moment for Rudy Project,” said Mayer. “The brand has a deep heritage of innovation and performance, with authentic roots in endurance sports and a passionate community behind it. I’m excited to help shape the next chapter in North America by building stronger connections with athletes, dealers, and consumers while creating a premium brand experience at every touchpoint.”

The transition to a direct subsidiary structure will allow Rudy Project to accelerate decision-making, strengthen retailer and partner support, improve operational efficiencies, and create a more integrated global brand experience across product, marketing, and customer service.

Rudy Project remains committed to its core performance categories, including cycling, triathlon, running, trail running and snow, while continuing to invest in premium eyewear, helmets, prescription solutions, and athlete partnerships worldwide.

As a result of the work done, 32 medals at the latest Winter Olympic Games had Rudy Project helmets or eyewear.

Founded in Italy in 1985, Rudy Project has spent more than four decades developing high-performance sports eyewear and helmets trusted by professional athletes and active consumers around the world. The company continues to design and engineer products focused on performance, protection, comfort, and style, with innovation and sustainability remaining central to its global strategy.

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Partnerships and athletes

• Triathlon: USA Triathlon, Gregory Barnaby, Kieran Lindars, Nick Thompson, Ben Kanute, Jackie Hering and Danielle Lewis, the Organicoach XTerra pro cross-triathlon team.
• Cycling: World Tour Team Bahrain Victorious, the Italian Cycling Federation, NICA (National Interscholastic Cycling Association.
• Trail running: Official Eyewear of the UTMB World Series, Inov8 France trail running team, elite trail runners Josh Wade and Heather Jackson.
• Winter sports: cross-country skiing stars Federico Pellegrino and Heidi Weng, biathlete Johannes Dale, and technical supplier to the leading national speed skating teams, including Team Italy and US.