Meet The Team: Scott Hughes

Here at NCASS, there’s a passionate team working behind the scenes every day to make sure members get the most out of their membership – and we thought it was about time you got to know them!

Meet Scott, our Product Owner, who has been part of the NCASS team for four and a half years. With eight years of experience in product management, plus five years working in the NHS, Scott brings a wealth of knowledge to the tech team, helping shape the digital tools and services that support our members.

Before joining NCASS, Scott even took a gap year to pursue his dream of becoming a theme park manager – a career move that’s certainly one of the more unique on the team! Today, he’s focused on creating better products and experiences that make life easier for independent hospitality businesses.

How does your work help NCASS members?

My role is to essentially gather requirements for future developments to our products, then to scope and design them, and ultimately sign them off when the work is complete. So I work in the Tech team and work closely with the Tech Director and Developers.

What’s one improvement you’ve worked on that’s made a real difference for members?

We were just starting to plan the Digital Food safety System (DFSS) when I joined, so I have essentially project managed this to date, liaising with certain members when first building it and collating feedback for future additions. We have a lot of exciting plans over the coming year which I can’t wait for us to share and ultimately release.

How do you decide which features or improvements to prioritise?

A big part of my job is managing expectations. I am somewhat of a conduit between all departments and so naturally I have requests in my ear all day every day. Ultimately the biggest priorities are the ones that most directly affect member value.

What’s something you’ve learnt about the independent hospitality industry since joining NCASS?

That despite the legal documentation is largely the same, members can have a completely different way of working. As such it’s crucial that we make our systems sufficiently flexible to be able to cater to everyone’s needs.

What upcoming projects are you most excited about right now?

As above, the DFSS. We’re also looking at improving the member onboarding journey across all systems, so that things are more intuitive straight away and allow members to more easily get to grips with it all and tailor everything to their needs.

What’s your go-to comfort food?

Pizza – and yes absolutely with pineapple (jalapenos and pineapple is a winning combo).

What would you name your food truck or hospitality business?

At home I’ve often combined Italian and Mexican dishes, two of my favourite cuisines. They go surprisingly well together (although I’d never tell an Italian that). I don’t have a witty name so I’d probably go with Mexitalia.

What’s a fun fact about you?

I don’t know about “fun facts” as such but my main interests are music (I play guitar and piano), theme parks (I’m lucky to have been to the USA 10 times visiting them all), and I’m also a big football fan (Brentford), and cricket and rugby  – although on more of a spectator basis due to my spectacularly uncooperative knees.