Introduction
Derek Hydon is the co-founder and president of MaCher, a product-based branding company founded in Los Angeles in 1992. MaCher designs, ethically sources and manufactures products for global brands and has been a certified B Corp since 2014. Derek is now based in Switzerland, where the company expanded in 2021. His role centers on making sure MaCher’s purpose, culture and values are reflected in how the company actually operates.
Career path
Before co-founding MaCher, Derek spent nine years working in the United Kingdom’s travel sector and in corporate marketing. As MaCher grew, he became increasingly focused on the idea that a business can be financially successful while also being a force for good.
Experiences inside the workplace shaped that thinking. Derek described learning from situations in which an employee’s personal circumstances were not fully understood, reinforcing the importance of listening before making assumptions. He also sees continual learning and individual action as ways people can change larger systems. One example is a MaCher team member creating a scholarship program at the Santa Monica College design school to help students afford tuition.
Inclusion beyond the traveler
Travel matters to Derek because of the people and perspectives he has encountered through it. He also believes inclusion in travel has to extend beyond travelers themselves to the communities affected by tourism.
At MaCher, that perspective shows up through flexible work schedules, deliberately diverse hiring and a less traditional hierarchy that gives employees greater autonomy. Derek sees diverse hiring as more than a fairness issue: different perspectives can make an organization stronger and reveal possibilities a more uniform team might miss.
Building a human-centered business
Inclusion has to reach the people who travel, the people who work in travel and the communities travel affects.
Takeaways
- Diverse perspectives strengthen the work. Inclusion benefits the people being included and can also improve the decisions and ideas available to the organization.
- Listen to people’s stories. Circumstances and experiences are often deeper than they first appear; approaching differences neutrally can create better relationships and better decisions.
