Page 18 - Landscape-Issue 156

PERSONALITY PROFILE

HAYDEN HUTTON

Hayden Hutton is the Managing Director of Stihl South Africa, a company founded
in Germany in 1926. Originally manufacturing outdoor power equipment, today it
is a leader in machinery for forestry, agriculture and landscaping.

utton was born in Durban and years, he grew with the company, taking
grew up in Pietermaritzburg, where on increasingly strategic roles that drive
Hhe matriculated from Maritzburg growth and operational excellence.
College. He obtained a marketing
qualification from the Institute of Marketing The pathway to becoming MD
Management while working full-time and The July 2021 civil unrest in the country
this, he says, taught him discipline and was catastrophic for Stihl - its warehouse
time management. Over the years, he has and offices were looted and burned to the
built a strong foundation in marketing and ground. Overnight, they lost everything:
leadership, and as MD, focusses on driving the building, stock, and infrastructure. This
growth and strategic initiatives. came on the heels of the Covid pandemic,
He started his career in forestry, spending a period that had ironically been good
two years gaining hands-on experience for the industry as people rediscovered
before joining the South African STIHL gardening and invested in quality tools. “We
importer in 1992 as a specialist forestry had adapted well then, setting up remote
representative. This role allowed him work systems to keep operations running.
to deepen his understanding of the Little did we know that this foresight would
forestry industry and build strong client become a lifeline,” he explains.
relationships. In 1996, when STIHL When the smoke cleared, the challenge
Germany established its own subsidiary in was immense: no premises, no stock, and
Pietermaritzburg, he became an area sales no operational base. But instead of being
manager, servicing key forestry regions in a setback, it was seen as an opportunity
KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga. Over the to reimagine the business. The company’s

Hayden Hutton, MD of Stihl South Africa

The Stihl South Africa team celebrating a visit by Dr. Nikolas Stihl and his opening of their new premises in Montrose Office Park, Pietermaritzburg

16 Landscape SA • Issue 156 2025 Check us out www.salandscape.co.za