Made in Britain since 1911
It is with great sadness that we announce Roy Burek passed away peacefully on Saturday 27th April 2019, following a heart attack in his sleep.
The grandson of Charles Owen, Roy committed his life’s work towards making horse riding safer and saving lives.
Under Roy’s direction, Charles Owen has grown into a market-leading global brand in equestrian safety, manufacturing the highest quality safety products and utilizing cutting edge technology, design and research.
Roy has also been integral in developing international safety standards and was on the frontline of lifesaving research into the science of head injury. This research led to Roy being appointed as an Honorary Professor at Cardiff University in 2017. He will be very sorely missed by us all.
We all know how much he believed in this family business and it is now time for us to come together and do Roy proud.
Owen Burek – Roy’s son – has increasingly been supporting his father with strategic decisions in recent years. Owen has himself grown a successful business over 12 years and has a wealth of experience and ideas to offer.
As the fourth generation to Charles Owen, Owen is deeply committed to building on the company’s remarkable 108-year heritage whilst maintaining ‘business as usual’ for employees, retailers and customers.
He is already working closely with senior management in both the UK and USA, including Operations Director Ricky Hone and Director of Sales and Marketing Danielle Santos.
Cynthia Burek – Roy’s sister and a Professor at the University of Chester – will be looking into establishing a trust to fund research on head injury, to continue her brother’s legacy and their grandfather’s mission of Charles Owen being ‘For a Safer World’.
At this time of mourning, it is the strong union of Roy’s incredibly proud family and the excellent Charles Owen global team that will ensure his work continues to save lives into the future.
“We needed to educate that second best is not an option and that the products needed to be widely available and supported by the best possible customer service.”
Roy Burek