Peter Gilleece

Peter Gilleece is the founder and CEO of Vikela Armour, a UK manufacturer rethinking how body armour is designed, made and experienced by the people who wear it.

He founded Vikela in 2020 after identifying an opportunity to challenge some of the long-standing compromises in traditional body armour, from fit, comfort and mobility to how protection can be tailored to different users and operational requirements.

Under his leadership, Vikela has grown from an early concept into a business with a 20,000 sq ft manufacturing facility and a granted UK patent, using advanced manufacturing techniques to explore a new generation of protective equipment for police, security and defence users.

Before founding Vikela, Peter managed industrial projects for Aston Martin, bringing experience from advanced automotive manufacturing into the protective-equipment sector.

In 2025, he was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list for Manufacturing, recognising his work in innovation and manufacturing.

Peter's focus is not simply on creating different body armour, but questioning why some of the industry's long-standing trade-offs need to exist at all.