David Hieatt

David Hieatt is an entrepreneur in the purest sense of the word. From Howies to Hiut Denim and The Do Lectures, David knows how to build a business well. His expertise lies in creativity, fashion, business agility and teamwork.

Leaving school at 16 to open a market stall selling trainers taught him David importance of sales and a good pair of shoes - on a good day he had money to buy to enough petrol to get home. On a bad day, he walked.

At 21, he joined Saatchi and Saatchi, where he worked for 8 years. To be surrounded by people who loved ideas felt to David like joining the best club in the world. He had the time of his life. At Saatchi, David learnt to take risks and to trust his instinct.

When Saatchi and Saatchi lost the Adidas pitch to Leagas Delaney, David moved to the competitors – because he loved working on Adidas.

It was then that David started a brand called Howies by making four t-shirts. Although he told everyone it was just a hobby - it wasn’t.

Next came a stint at Abbott Mead Vickers where he won tricky pitches and was put on the board.

But on Friday nights he pursued the dream. Shortening the life of the office photocopier by years, he printed the forerunner of what would become the Howies catalogue.

At 36, he left Abbott Mead to concentrate on Howies. He moved from London back to Wales, where Howies grew quickly, winning awards and being voted in the top 50 brands in the UK year after year.

Eventually, David sold Howies to Timberland. He went on to found Hiut Denim in 2011, a sustainable jeans company, which has proved that business with a purpose to do better can be the most successful kind.

The Hiut Denim Co is the first pair of jeans in the world to incorporate a thing called a HistoryTag. It lets you attach memories of where you went and what you did in them to the jean via the Internet. So, one day if those jeans get handed down or end up in a second-hand shop, the memories will go with them too.

David wanted to share his business expertise with the world, so he started The Do Lectures, a platform for ideas sharing. Starting with 30 speakers, over the two sites (Wales and California), it was voted in the top ten ideas festivals in the world by the Guardian. The talks have been watched millions of times online.

David Hieatt is an entrepreneur and an expert on fashion, retail, sustainability and branding.