Tom Hughes

Tom Hughes
Commercial Director at GT Exhausts
Originally from Magherafelt, Tom attended St. Mary’s Grammar and studied engineering in Birmingham before learning the ropes on Quality, Purchasing and Continuous Improvement, with 10 years in Tier 1 of the automotive supply chain. He worked all over Europe, learning fluent French and German along the way, supplying Toyota, Nissan and the main European OEM’s, meeting world class standards of performance.
Tom’s first non-automotive role was as Sourcing Engineering Director for a division of Alstom, transforming traditional purchasing into a truly strategic function, critical in new product introduction and delivering new levels of competitiveness in terms of Quality, Cost & Delivery as well as innovation.
Tom returned to Ireland in 2003, completing an MBA at Trinity College Dublin before taking a role at the Hydraulic Accumulator and Cooler manufacturer Olaer. Management completed a private equity backed MBO, grew the business to over $200m globally and achieved a highly successful exit. Tom was Commercial Director during the last five years at Olaer, responsible for Sales & Marketing, Key Account Management and even R&D, transforming a “collection of companies” into a truly global organisation.
Currently, Tom is working with GT Exhausts on a transformation, initially focusing on building a “2 Second Lean Culture.” It is a huge change but the team is rising to the challenge. As critical mass is achieved, his focus is shifting towards business development and implementing a broader product and manufacturing strategy. For now though, it’s People First.