Hughes’ punt pays off

LEIGH Hughes started COMVERJ without having ‘learned the ropes’ as an employee, instead jumping in feet first as an entrepreneur and launching the marketing, strategy and innovation company with business partner Colin Paterson.

In his first professional role, Mr Hughes ran the operations of the business for two years before taking over as chief executive at the age of 26.

Despite some people criticising him and questioning his ability, he harnessed tools learned through experiences as a successful footballer and in his personal life to overcome the challenges.

“As a young business leader there were many in the industry, including potential clients, who questioned my ability to deliver commercial quality outcomes and to effectively manage and grow the business,” Mr Hughes said.

“To withstand that criticism, to overcome my own self doubt and to ultimately prevail as a successful business leader is enormously satisfying.”

COMVERJ focused on servicing the SME market and built a large order book on small projects with a large client base; word-of-mouth marketing was the key for the business.

Until now, the firm has not engaged in formal marketing and plans are in place to ramp up awareness of COMVERJ with strategic marketing this year.

The business currently employs 11 staff and Mr Hughes explained he hopes to cap the growth of the team at 12. 

Pillars

He has built the business’ three pillars – marketing and communications (or ‘marcomms’), strategy and innovation – by having an in-house team with core COMVERJ skill sets and expertise and attracting technical expertise, such as digital or online capacity, as clients require it.

Developments in the innovation side of the business have facilitated growth in the other business pillars as well; COMVERJ helped to develop health education software called IBERA in 2008, which uses animation to educate people on the implications of poor-health practices and aims to improve overall health literacy.

COMVERJ bought the rights to IBERA, which is now a separate business in its own right. 

The software has been a success in Australia and New Zealand; development is currently under way to create iPad and iPhone applications for the software, which will be rolled out in the US and UK this year.

Mr Hughes was appointed as global managing director of IBERA recently and said the story behind the product and business and how the software had been marketed helped to instil confidence in potential clients of COMVERJ’s capabilities in marketing.

“The business experience I acquired, the skills I developed and the resolve and strength of character that emerged from building COMVERJ since 2004 provided the foundation for me to achieve my most significant achievement to date; the development and global roll out of the state-of-the-art health education tool, IBERA,” he said.

Leadership

In pre-COMVERJ days and during his university studies, Mr Hughes played semi-professional football for a WA Football League team and believes his leadership abilities come from the lessons in sport.

“There is little difference between leading successful business teams and leading successful sporting teams. In both, you have to manage people as individuals, you have to position them in an area that maximises their strengths and you need to ensure that all members are working to advance the team’s objectives,” Mr Hughes said.

During his last year of football, as Mr Hughes was considering how to progress his professional business career, his personal life was thrown into turmoil when his father, Peter Hughes, was seriously injured in the terrorist attack in Bali.

Mr Hughes committed himself to managing his father’s rehabilitation and the associated responsibilities.

“I had to take responsibility for his care and recuperation, to manage family affairs and to ensure that his successful Perth-based roofing business remained solvent,” Mr Hughes said.

That time and experience altered Mr Hughes’ path and provided clarity in what his best skills were.

“I learned that I possessed a unique skill set, an innate business acumen and a new found confidence to communicate effectively with people in senior roles,” he said.

“I subsequently redefined myself as an entrepreneur and leader and repositioned my professional goals. 

“The bravery and mental strength shown by my father over this period also gave me the inspiration and courage to be bold, to take on anything and to never give up.”

Peter Hughes took over a nationally focused burns foundation four years ago, now known as the Peter Hughes Burns Foundation, which supports burn survivors and their families.

Mr Hughes has been supporting his father’s endeavours since the foundation was established and became a board member last year. 

He said his first major personal contribution as a board member would be a fundraising effort in March, when he planned to run 137 kilometres from Cape Leeuwin to Cape Naturaliste to raise money and awareness for the foundation.