Aaron Laithwaite, founder and CEO of Hydes hails from a small town on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. His adventurous side surfaced early with avid and competitive involvement in downhill ski racing and mountain biking. His love of cars was ever present, but at a young age it was only realized in his dreams.

Creating work around cars has been a life-long passion and the road has been winding. Aaron began in the leather industry in ’97 by co-founding a leather furniture wholesale operation. While learning the business, he began to develop an interest in customizing the designs of his products to meet the needs of his clients. The products were popular and the company grew quickly.

Wanting to have more creative input and control, he acquired an interest in a leather furniture manufacturing business. From that point on he assumed the roles of material sourcing and product design. Immersed in the leather supply sector he developed strong bonds with several tanneries around the world resulting in a deep and intimate understanding of his product and industry.

With his desire to be connected to the car industry still on the bucket list, he created a contract hides division for auto interiors as an off-shoot of the furniture manufacturing/wholesaling. Soon it began to grow into a sizable share of the company’s revenue. Eventually he separated the contract hides from the parent company, renamed it Hydes Leather and subsequently sold his interest in the furniture business and the joint-venture.

With all the focus firmly on Hydes, the company is booming. Aaron and the staff at Hydes love what they do. Creativity, passion, and dedication to the dreams of their clients keeps everyone working at full throttle.