His earlier responsibilities in Government included placing and managing Government contracts with aerospace suppliers and contractors and promoting Government technical advisory services and EU and national R&TD Schemes for industry. He has also edited various technology journals, managed the Scottish element of the EU STRIDE Programme and been Chairman of the EU funded SME Initiative Operational Programme for Lowland Scotland Programme Management Committee.
Hugh also has extensive knowledge of sales and marketing, having spent the best part of a decade advising and assisting firms on all aspects of their export activities and acting as UK Sales Manager for a Government organisation that manufactured and sold a wide range of industrial and consumer products.
He became Head of Innovation Grants in the Scottish Executive Enterprise Transport & Lifelong Learning Department in January 1991 and continued in this position for some 16 years until his retirement. During this period he dealt with policy issues relating to industrial R&D support and technology transfer in Scotland and had overall responsibility for administering and promoting the SMART:SCOTLAND, SPUR and SPURPlus industrial R&D support schemes.
In addition to chairing the SMART:SCOTLAND Judging Panel, Hugh was a member of the Stakeholders Panel for Scottish Enterprise’s Proof of Concept Fund, Glasgow University'’s Knowledge Transfer Strategy Group, and a former member of the Core Services Working Group for the Business Gateway Network, the Business Services Steering Group for the Glasgow Science Centre, and the Smart Northern Ireland Judging Panel.
He is a non-executive Director of Stirling University Innovation Park Ltd, Targeting Innovation Ltd and LINC Scotland, a nationwide business introduction service between private investors and businesses seeking growth and start-up capital. He was awarded an OBE in 2002 and appointed an Honorary Fellow of Heriot Watt University in 2007.