Hugo helped lead the buyout of Cheapflights, one of
the UK’s pioneering travel online brands, from founder John Hatt in 2000 when
it was just a two-person operation based in a Wandsworth attic.
In 2011 he became chief executive and oversaw the
purchase of Denmark-based metasearch site Momondo, whose name the group adopted
when it rebranded as it expanded internationally.
A strategic switch to metasearch from its original
media model and expansion in North America put Momondo on the radar of big
global competitors and in 2017 the Priceline Group acquired it for $550
million.
That saw Hugo exit the business and since then has
been pursuing his passion for the Arts and Crafts movement. As Director of
Marchmont Farms, he is leading a six-year restoration of Marchmont House in the
Scottish borders, as well as being a patron of the Borders Art Fair.
Hugo co-founded Howzat Partners, which has invested
in more than 60 digital start-ups and he is also on the advisory panel of the
TravelTech Lab and a founding investor in Travel Massive.
He was awarded the Hall of Fame Young Entrepreneur
of the Year Award in 2008, while in 2016 he won the Travolution Achievement
Award.