West Warwick, RI Arpin Group has promoted Michael Hughes from general manager of Arpin International (China) to vice president, global business development.
In his new role, Hughes will be responsible for contributing to the expansion of Arpin’s exceptional customer experience while enhancing new client relations and corporate account development. He will be overseeing sales teams from the USA, UK and Europe, UAE, and APAC regions.
“Michael has played an integral role in developing our company’s presence in the China market as well as in our overall international growth strategy,” said Peter Arpin, executive vice president of Arpin Group and president of Arpin International Group. “I’m looking forward to watching him excel in this new role and lead our global business development team.”
Hughes, a Boston, MA native, is an expat himself and accustomed to working in emerging markets. After completing a bachelor’s degree in cross-cultural studies with a concentration on comparative religions, he resided on research trips throughout the world. He has extensive international experience having lived and worked in Egypt, China, Korea, and parts of Europe. A native English speaker, he also speaks Chinese, Korean, Arabic, and now is working through acquiring fluency in the Dutch language.
After a decade of experience living overseas servicing the international moving and relocation industry, Hughes brings with him a unique knowledge base from former stints in operational roles, sales and marketing, and country management developing inter-regional partnerships. He has an acute awareness of a multitude of business functions, with his first-hand knowledge being indispensable in advancing a profile of successful service renderings for our customers with empathy and aptness.
Since joining the team, he has been instrumental in growing Arpin’s presence in international markets, has advanced strong supplier-partner relationships throughout the APAC region, and continues to ensure that Arpin’s global clientele experience the highest level of service quality.
Hughes holds certifications in the Lean Six Sigma methodology, GMS with the Worldwide Employee Relocation Council (WERC), as well Google AdWords.
On a personal level, he participates in many charitable endeavors including Habitat for Humanity and People-4-Pets. Hughes currently resides in Asia with his partner and is looking forward to joining the Arpin leadership team in the USA.