About John Hughes

Born in Fremantle and educated at the Christian Brothers College, John first worked in Canberra as a trainee Organisation & Methods Officer with Australia's Department of External Territories. However, after 18 months in the position, he decided to return to Perth where he joined Attwood Motors as a clerk and a year later started in the sales division. A few years later at 24 years of age, he became General Manager of Attwoods Motorama, which was to become the largest used car organisation in Western Australia.

In 1969 he resigned to start his own business - Paramotors. Within a few years the company became the leading independent used car organisation in Western Australia, with 13 outlets.

In May 1980 John took over the inner city Mitsubishi franchise in Victoria Park from the Skipper Bailey Motor Company and traded until 2005 as Skipper Mitsubishi. In 2005 John changed the name to "John Hughes" and the group is the largest single location motor vehicle retailing company in Western Australia and for the last 20 consecutive years has been in the top three biggest selling Mitsubishi dealers in Australia and were number one in 2003, and again in 2005.

John was a founding shareholder and director of Bond Motor Sales, the original importer of Hyundai motor vehicles in Australia and was responsible for the setting up of the importing infrastructure and appointment of dealers in the early stages of the development of the Hyundai Motor Corporation in Australia. He remains a Hyundai dealer (John Hughes in Victoria Park) and has been the top selling dealer in Australia every year since 1989 and for eight consecutive years (1992-1999) was the world's biggest selling Hyundai dealer, outselling dealerships in the United States, Europe, Asia and Canada. Last year John outsold the next top selling Hyundai dealer by over two to one.

John has been a Volkswagen Dealer since 1998. The group also has a Ford Dealership in Bentley and recently acquired a Kia Franchise. John is a substantial shareholder and Director of Easifleet, one of WA's biggest fleet management companies.

The John Hughes Group employs approximately 485 people and sells approximately 1350 new and used vehicles every month with an annual turnover of close to $450 million. The company has diversified into many peripheral areas in the automotive industry, it has its own insurance company, its own finance company, underwrites its own extended warranties, is in the tyre and battery business, has a recreational vehicle centre, provides its own roadside assistance, has eleven mobile service vans, has its own interstate trucks to transport vehicle to and from the eastern states.

For a number of years John Hughes was a director of Channel 9 in Perth and Burswood Management Limited, the company operating the casino complex in Western Australia.

He has a high profile in Western Australia because of featuring prominently in extensive television, radio and press advertising in relation to the marketing of his motor vehicles.

John Hughes is recognised for his totally committed approach to "hands on" management and total quality customer service. His high personal profile and his passion towards continually striving for excellence at all levels has made him a sought after and well known motivational public speaker.