Sean Steel Stuttaford has never been afraid to explore uncharted waters and take a risk. Stuttaford is the chairperson of non-profit company Garden Cities, and CEO of Penflex, a South African-based company that manufactures and designs stationery. But when he is not working, you’ll find him at the ocean, pursuing his life-long passion.
When becoming chairperson of the non-profit company Garden Cities, Sean Stuttaford’s strategy for the group was to sell houses in what was historically considered “middle class white areas”, and use the profits generated to benefit the greater Cape Town community. PHOTO: Hannah Theron
Sean Steel Stuttaford’s house in Plattekloof is filled with sailing paraphernalia. On a table in the entryway sits a small model of a ship, and the walls of the hallway and study are decorated with images of water and yacht races. Sitting at a desk under a framed t-shirt from the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race – one of Australia’s most iconic yacht races – is Stuttaford.
For Stuttaford, sailing has been his constant calm throughout some of the most tempestuous times of his life.
“I enjoy that sailing is tough,” says Stuttaford. “Because when you get on a boat and you cross an ocean you can’t just say ‘OK I’m tired now, I wanna go’. When you go, you’re doing it until you get to the other side.”
This resilience seems true for most aspects of Stuttaford’s life. He has needed to navigate a divorce, starting his own company, and transforming an existing one.
“You know, he loves the water… loves the ocean,” says Stuttaford’s wife, Wendy Stuttaford. “Since I’ve known him, every time we’ve ever moved, this big blue box has moved. It has never been opened in twenty years and do you know what’s in there? His wetsuit.”
Sean Stuttaford is the chairperson of non-profit company Garden Cities and the CEO of Penflex, a stationary manufacturer. He started sailing when he was sixteen and it has remained his passion since. PHOTO: Supplied/Sean Stuttaford
The sailor
Stuttaford’s love for sailing started when he was sixteen. At the time, he started building a steel boat with his father. “That was something that connected my father and I. It was something we both enjoyed,” says Stuttaford.
Stuttaford and his father spent his whole high school career working on the boat. But then he left to go study mechanical engineering at technicon in Cape Town, and the boat was never finished.
“Eventually he bought a boat and then we sailed on [it] and went up the coast,” recalls Stuttaford. “I used to wind surf and then I just… I don’t know… I just got into [sailing] more and more.”
During his late twenties, Stuttaford got his skipper licence. He has since done offshore sailing – a trip that usually lasts longer than 12 hours and is farther than 19 kilometres – and long distance sailing.
Off to the races
After completing his studies, Stuttaford started yacht racing. During his mid twenties, he joined a yacht that had a racing crew on it and soon started racing with them.
One of his most memorable races was the Cape to Rio race in 2000. There were five people on the ship and the race lasted around 22 days, says Stuttaford.
During this race, the forestay – the wire that holds the top of the mast to the front of the boat – broke due to a storm.
“A massive wave came behind us and turned us sideways,” says Stuttaford.
He recalls that the water was coming up to the middle of the boat. “We had a massive sail and it was filling with water so we had to cut it away to get the boat back up right,” he says. “That’s what happens when you sail across an ocean. It is tough. Bad things happen and you just have to deal with them and then move on.”
He also participated in the Southern Ocean Race, a three-month long race from Cape Town to Australia. This is the race that he remembers most fondly.
“It was one of those once in a lifetime type of opportunities,” says Stuttaford. “I mean, the waves we were surfing down [were] probably 30 feet high. You just look up and you see this wall of water chasing you.”
“Being on the helm, you know, steering the boat and surfing down these massive waves at night was exhilarating and scary as shit…,” he says. “I mean, you have no idea! You’ve got the moon and that’s it. There’s nothing around you. You’re on your own and you’re just flying down these waves. It was absolutely amazing.”
Sean Stuttaford describes himself as a “bit of a maverick” because he enjoys doing reckless things and taking risks. But he always does so carefully and while donning a “life vest and harness”. PHOTO: Supplied/Sean Stuttaford
Making Waves
When Stuttaford isn’t sailing, he runs Garden Cities, a building company started by his great grandfather in 1919. As the oldest male child, Stuttaford always knew he’d work at the company. His journey with the Garden Cities began in 1995 when he joined the board.
At the time, Garden Cities was in survival mode and the view remained quite narrow despite the end of Apartheid, according to Stuttaford. “It became a company that built houses for middle class white people,” he explains.
Stuttaford became the chairperson in 2001 and soon started developing a new strategy for the company. “When I took over, I said we need to really contribute to the broader Cape Town community and society,” says Stuttaford, who believes in using the profits the company makes to give back to the people of the Western Cape.
Stuttaford considers himself fortunate that Garden Cities is a part of his family’s legacy and that it allows him to give back to Cape Town.
When becoming chairperson of the non-profit company Garden Cities, Sean Stuttaford’s strategy for the group was to sell houses in what was historically considered “middle class white areas”, and use the profits generated to benefit the greater Cape Town community. PHOTO: Hannah Theron
In partnership with the Garden Cities CEO, John Matthews, Stuttaford created the Archway Foundation. They identified that there were over 800 schools that did not have school halls and became committed to alleviating this shortcoming, says Stuttaford.
“Despite his advantaged background, Sean has the ability to straddle different worlds,” says Matthews about his colleague. “I say this, because we have had many interactions in respect of the South African context and, being of similar age, we have shared many experiences from opposite sides of the tracks.”
“Sean remains committed to making things better, despite the challenges and frustrations that exist. A positive attitude towards business and life in general is difficult these days and this he certainly possesses,” says Matthews.
The big turning point
Stuttaford’s life was upended in 1995, when he and his first wife got divorced. At the time, he was twenty-six, living in Johannesburg, completing a Bcom in Accounts and Economics through the University of South Africa (Unisa), and working at a manufacturing company.
After the divorce, he quit his job and moved to Cape Town.
After moving, Stuttaford got a job working for an old acquaintance’s mother. In 1995, he founded his own company, Logman, where he met his current wife, Wendy. In 2001, their daughter Sinead was born.
“Then everything just moved from there. My whole life just became what it is now,” says Stuttaford.
“The bottom line is that the divorce was a massive turning point. If I had not gotten divorced, I wouldn’t be sitting here today,” he says.
Sean Stuttaford competed in the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race in 2013 and afterwards got this shirt signed by friends. PHOTO: Hannah Theron
In the same boat
Stuttaford believes in teaching others what he’s learnt, and in making South Africa a better place through collaboration.
“My philosophy in life is [that] if everybody did a little bit in their little space to try and help other people – in whatever small way you can – then we would be in such a better place as a country.”