Harry Hughes

Harry Hughes is CEO of PortWest. A century ago, PortWest was founded in a picturesque tourist town along Ireland’s Atlantic coastline by the Hughes family, who have been an important part of commercial life in the area ever since. Harry Hughes runs PortWest in collaboration with his brothers Cathal and Owen. Together they have overseen a major global expansion programme for the company, having made an early decision to internationalise their operations in order to compete in a globalised world. They now employ 800 people in Bangladesh, with plans to increase this number to 2,000 by 2016. The company also has long standing relationships with manufacturers in China, who in turn employ over 4,000 people. PortWest now has a turnover of €80 million. The company ships to over eighty countries and boasts international warehouses in the UK, Poland, Dubai, and the USA. Under Mr. Hughes’ leadership staff at PortWest acquired world-class skillsets that facilitated rapid growth over a short timeframe.