Hugh received a batchelors in geology from the University of Edinburgh in 1982 and a Sloan M.Sc in Management from the London Business School in 2001. During the 80's and 90's he held a number of staff geologist and senior management positions in respectively BP and Enterprise Oil plc, culminating as head of Enterprise's Southeast Asia division. Since 2001 he has been on the management team of four startup companies ranging from computer software and architectural services, to the oil services sector. Most recently he was a key figure in the growth and profitable trade sale of The Peak Group to AGR AS (Norway). He is a keen climber and skier and has participated in several expeditions to Northeast Greenland since 1982.