After 18 years as Hytec Group CEO, John Wingrove will be stepping down as the Hytec Groups Number 1 at the end of this year. Leader, businessman, visionary and hero-to-many, John’s time at the helm brought the Group to the lofty status of Africa’s largest single-source supplier of hydraulics, pneumatics and automation technologies. In his final year in charge, he leaves the Group having achieved its highest-ever turnover for a financial year.
John first emerged as a key leader within the Group in the late 1980s following his appointment as Managing Director of Hytec KwaZulu-Natal in 1985. Transforming the branch into a profitable, highly professional entity in a short space of time, John was soon entrusted with the additional managerial duties of Hytec Cape, which he oversaw as leader of the entire coastal group from 1997.
On 26 July, 1999, after just two years at Hytec Cape, John was promoted to Group Managing Director. It is here that he started to establish the qualities he’d become known for as a leader: he gave direction, not orders; he gave vision, not targets; and he led with respect, not by authority.
Such was John’s effect across the Fluid Power industry, that the questions ‘what would John do?’ and ‘what is John’s opinion?’ quickly became popular guiding principles asked by members of the industry.
Incoming CEO and current Deputy CEO Tillmann Olsen explains, “Yet again, the Group has demonstrated remarkable performance in 2017, and this in difficult market conditions. Ours is a business model that works. John has led this model expertly for the past 18 years and leaves us with a well-oiled, healthy and agile organisation that’s ready for the next chapter of our history.”
To John, from all of us at the Hytec Group, thank you for all the wisdom and support you have contributed to the Group over the years. We are proud to have called you leader, and grateful for all the work you’ve done in driving the most successful team in the Fluid Power Industry!
