The person behind the work
A little about the founder
I’m Mary-Ann Hut, a Cape Town-based marketing consultant with over 25 years of experience building brands, leading campaigns, and growing businesses across a range of industries.
My career spans senior roles in tech, logistics, financial services, FMCG, and education – including four years as Head of Marketing, where I ran the entire marketing function independently and delivered measurable revenue outcomes through digital, content, PR, events, and channel marketing. My particular strength is B2B marketing – building partnerships, negotiating collaborations, and developing affiliate programmes that help businesses grow together. I genuinely enjoy the process of finding the right partners and creating commercial relationships that benefit everyone involved.
I have a knack for bringing order to complexity – whether that's a messy launch, a tangled brief, or a business that needs structure before it can scale. I connect people across levels and backgrounds, not because I've been asked to, but because good outcomes rarely come from silos. I treat everyone the same, whatever their title. When something needs doing, I find a way to get it done – quietly, thoroughly, and well.
I was a core part of the team that launched South Africa’s first gin subscription brand – responsible for building the operational and commercial engine behind it. I managed the subscription model, drove subscriber growth to 200+, and built a sustainable revenue structure within a year. I helped scale a digital education programme to over 20,000 learners nationally – work that earned recognition from the World Economic Forum.
Earlier in my career I cut my teeth in direct marketing, CRM, and campaign management at Old Mutual, the Automobile Association (UK), and in direct marketing agencies – giving me a grounding in data-driven, accountable marketing that has informed everything I’ve done since.
I hold a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing from UCT, a BA from Stellenbosch University, and a Distinction in the International Certificate in Direct Marketing from the DMA.
Beyond the brief
What's brought me here
Both my career and my personal life have shaped who I am as a marketer and as a person. The roles I’ve held, the businesses I’ve worked in, and the challenges I’ve navigated have all pointed me toward the same realisation: I am most alive when I am helping people realise their own goals and dreams.
I am passionate about listening — really listening — to what a business is struggling with, and then working alongside them to find a way forward. Whether that’s through a new partnership, a smarter marketing structure, or simply bringing order to something that’s become unwieldy, I find genuine satisfaction in seeing a plan through from start to finish. For me, a job half-done isn’t done at all.
Outside of work, I am an avid road and gravel cyclist. It is one of the best things I have ever done for myself, not just physically, but mentally. Pushing through a long climb when your legs are begging you to stop teaches you things no boardroom ever will: that courage is a choice, that resilience is built one hard kilometre at a time, and that consistency and hard work are the only shortcuts that actually exist. The mindset that gets me up a mountain is the same one I bring to every client brief. I don’t give up on either.
Philosophy
What I believe
Marketing works best when strategy and execution sit in the same hands. I don’t hand off to an agency and hope for the best – I build the plan and I see it through.
I’m at my best in organisations that value independent thinking, commercial rigour, and getting things done.
Let's work together
If you’re looking for a senior marketer who can think strategically and
execute brilliantly – I’d love to hear from you.
