Hugh received a bachelor's in geology from the University of Edinburgh in 1982 and a Sloan M.Sc. in Management from London Business School in 2001. From 1982 to 2000 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 focused on new business development and was a key figure in the growth of oil services company The Peak Group and in their $50 million trade sale to AGR AS (Norway) in 2006. Hugh is a founder of Avannaa Resources and is responsible for business development and commercial matters. Since incorporation in the UK in 2006 Avannaa has grown to become one of Greenland's leading mineral exploration companies. In West Greenland Avannaa has discovered a new rare earth element deposit and a new diamond deposit and in North Greenland Avannaa has built a leading position in a new sediment-hosted copper province.