4Com are extremely saddened to announce the passing of the company’s founder, Daron Hutt, aged 62. Daron created 4Com in 1999, famously starting the company with just a phone, a phone book and a vision of improving the telecom solutions for Britain’s SME market. He remained 4Com’s guiding light throughout the quarter-century that followed, ultimately being its Chairman and Managing Director.
Throughout his time leading 4Com, Daron demonstrated how deeply he cared about the people in his company. Even as the company grew bigger, he routinely sought to make 4Com a desirable place to work by offering best-in-class benefits, which helped the company win prestigious awards such as The Sunday Times’ Best Companies to Work for in 2017.
Even after that victory, Daron continued to make people a focus; in 2022 he drew national attention for giving every member of his then 450-strong team a £200/month Energy Support Bonus, to assist with spiralling energy costs. He did so without expecting any acclaim, to Daron it was a way of helping his team in a moment of need. In announcing the bonus, he made it clear that he knew the importance of the 4Com team, and that as the team looked after the company and its customers, so too should the company look after the team.
Daron’s focus on giving back also extended to his local community. After years of 4Com doing individual charity drives, such as providing new Sunshine Coaches to Variety, the Children’s Charity, the 4Com Foundation was created in 2014. On Daron’s instruction, each month money was added to the foundation’s funds related to the company’s success, allowing the foundation to give generously and to make a real difference in the local community. Over the years that followed, beneficiaries in the local area have included Amelia’s Rainbow, who received £35,646, The Isobel Baker Foundation, who received £33,303, and Hope Housing, who received £25,487, to name just three. At the time of writing, the foundation which Daron created has given over £500,000 to local causes.
Daron truly believed that the SME market was the lifeblood of the economy, and that they should have access to the same technology as their larger counterparts. These beliefs led him to drive the creation of HiHi; a pioneering, video-enabled, highly customisable deskphone. He played a central role in HiHi’s development, insisting the focus should be on usability, and deploying functions which would give companies a competitive advantage. Daron’s focus remains visible in each of the HiHi versions that have followed, each of which went further than the last in making business life easier for UK SMEs.
The telecoms sector would undoubtedly be a different place without Daron’s influence. There are many companies in the sector today which have been founded by people who have previously worked at 4Com, and then gone on to put their own perspective on what they learned under Daron’s leadership.
Daron was someone who relentlessly challenged the status quo, and wanted the very best for his people, the industry, and the community. He leaves behind a legacy of success, which can be seen in terms of the careers of the 550 staff currently employed at 4Com, those who have gone on to success elsewhere, and the company he created, which went from strength-to-strength under his leadership.
His overriding mantra of “Excellence in Everything” will be carried forward in his honour by all who knew him.
Daron Hutt 1963 – 2025.
