How I started in fashion: Paul Hayes, CEO of Seasalt

Paul Hayes joined Cornish clothing brand Seasalt as CEO in 2013, leading the company for nearly 13 years. Under his leadership, Seasalt has transformed from a regional £20 million business into a £150 million international brand, reaching new markets and audiences around the world.

Prior to Seasalt, he held senior roles including UK General Manager at FitFlop and General Manager for Northern Europe at Timberland, having started his career at Berghaus - an experience he reflects on in the interview below.

In his conversation with TheIndustry.fashion, Hayes shares his passion for sustainability and highlights the key lessons he learned early in his career. He offers advice he would give his younger self and outlines the significant potential he sees to continue growing Seasalt and introducing the brand to new global audiences.

Have you always had an interest in fashion? Why does it appeal to you and why did you want to work within it?

It’s been less about fashion itself and more about working with great clothing and footwear brands, with a particular emphasis on performance, innovation and sustainable credentials. In fact, as my career has progressed, I have constantly pursued ways of innovating and changing practices to achieve more sustainable outcomes. At Seasalt, sustainability is one of our key drivers and we’re proving that you can be commercial and sustainable at the same time. It’s not even an option for us - it’s embedded in our brand DNA and everything we do is considered through that lens. This strong sense of purpose is very personally important to me at this point in my career.

Tell us about your first job in fashion What drew you to the role? What this experience was like?

I’ve almost always worked in clothing and footwear, either in retail or wholesale, for nearly 35 years. My first role incorporating clothing and footwear was with Berghaus, a brand that successfully blended technical performance with fashion in the 90s. I started off as a sales rep for the southwest of England and left four years later as National Sales Manager, with responsibility for around 50% of the UK business.

Berghaus was where I began to grow my career in larger businesses and progress into team management. I was drawn to the company because it was in an early phase of growth and developing rapidly, yet it still had a UK manufacturing function. This really appealed to me - having a base in the Northeast of England, seeing the product journey from factory to customer. I developed a healthy respect for the role that every individual carried out in the process. In fact, it was during this time that I first met the Chadwick family in the southwest and ultimately ended up working at Seasalt some years later.

What were the most valuable skills or lessons you gained from that first experience?

The key lessons were developing respect for everyone involved in getting product in front of the customer, at all levels. Understanding that everyone has an important role to play. It was also my first foray into creating high-performing teams made up of individuals with varied strengths and weaknesses. I’ve carried the skills and lessons I learned with me throughout my career, and you can’t ask for more than that from a first workplace experience.

What do you most enjoy about your current role?

I’ve been at Seasalt for almost 13 years, so there are many aspects of the role I enjoy! During my tenure, I’ve seen Seasalt grow from a more regional £20 million business to the £150 million international business it is today, with many significant milestones along the way. I’ve had the privilege of working with fantastic colleagues, and the combined talent at Seasalt is the beating heart of the business - I never take that for granted.

We also have an incredible customer community that has been instrumental to our success. I have the same energy and passion for the brand that I had at the beginning and look forward to realising our ongoing growth ambitions, including our exciting developments in sustainability in the years ahead.

If you could go back and give your younger self one piece of advice at the very start of your career, what would it be - and why?

To be honest, I don’t have any genuine regrets, and I don’t tend to dwell on the past. I look back on a career built on hard work, open-mindedness, determination and realising the potential of great teams - there’s nothing negative to reflect on. I would tell my younger self to make the most of every opportunity, which I’ve probably lived out throughout my career by working with great brands and people.

What does the next chapter of your own career look like and how are you hoping to grow from here?

It’s really important to me that when the day comes and I’m no longer at Seasalt, I will leave a successful business that continues to flourish and provide good career opportunities for our people. And it’s always about doing business in the right way. That’s what succession looks like to me.

But in the meantime, we have a lot to achieve, with significant potential to grow the business further and take the Seasalt brand to new audiences around the world. That’s my immediate focus.

Has there been a person in fashion that you have always admired and why?

I was fortunate enough to be mentored by Jeffrey Swartz at Timberland, another family business rooted in socially responsible principles and values. I was very lucky to work directly for someone I admired. He lived the values he preached, achieving many firsts - for example, Timberland was the first brand in the industry to publish a CSR report; now everyone does.

I had firsthand exposure to sustainability best practice, which is now firmly embedded in my mindset. I learned a lot during my time at Timberland, and this has stood me in good stead since. In fact, this thread of working for ethically driven family businesses has run through my career.