Ric Hughes? career has been about identifying business opportunities and taking measured risks.
Hughes, 45, started his own IT consulting firm when he was 20, and his entrepreneurial spirit has continued to grow.
“Today?s business culture forces people to be very short-sighted,” said Hughes, president and chief executive officer of Systems Alliance Inc., a Sparks-based software development and systems integration firm.
“If you look at successful entrepreneurs, they?re people who have persistence and determination,” Hughes said.
Hughes, who grew up in Baltimore, founded Capital Systems Ltd. with a partner in 1982. While most people his age were learning business basics in college courses, Hughes was stockpiling on-the-job experience.
“In retrospect, you?re so inexperienced, you don?t know what a silly idea is when you?re 20,” Hughes said. “You quickly develop basic management and leadership skills.”
Capital Systems was originally focused on providing support services to financial institutions. In the early 1990s, Capital Systems evolved and began implementing imaging projects for its banking, legal and defense clients.
Hughes sold his business in the mid-?90s and joined PricewaterhouseCoopers. At PWC, he led the firm?s North American Information, Communication and Entertainment IT Solutions Consulting practice.
Hughes was ready to take another risk in 2003. A former client let Hughes know about Systems Alliance.
“I spent a few days doing my due diligence and researching the company,” Hughes said. “Nine days later, I bought the company.”
Today, Systems Alliance, with more than 50 employees, works with clients like Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Legg Mason and Wal-Mart, providing IT consulting and developing Web-based applications for clients.
“It?s neat for me to run into people who are using our SiteExecutive Web content management software,” Hughes said.
Hughes has succeeded because “he?ll do whatever he has to do to get something done right,” said David Schreiber, marketing director for Systems Alliance.
“Ric is really good at seeing the big picture and aligning the right people and technologies to solve client challenges,” Schreiber said. “He sees the opportunities that other people may not see.”
Ric Hughes
First job: Cashier at Royal Farms in Towson when I was 15
Education: Bachelor?s degree in business management from the University of Baltimore
Daily e-mails received: Way too many, between 100 and 150
Daily voicemails received: Not many, probably less than 10
Favorite gadget: Treo
Career objective: To achieve balance between business success and impact on the non-business world
Essential Web sites: wsj.com, time.com, cnn.com
Hometown: Born in Atlanta, grew up in Baltimore
Birth date: Dec. 13, 1961
Original aspiration: Ever since I was young, I?ve been selling stuff.
Sports/hobbies: I live on a farm, so I spend a lot of time there.
