Carmen Hughes

With more than 15 years experience in public relations, Carmen Hughes is a Principal with Ignite Public Relations. She has developed a deep level of expertise counseling and representing companies in both the high tech and consumer arenas. She has been responsible for developing, planning, and implementing public relations programs focused on corporate and product visibility, category creation, and market education.

In 1997, Carmen founded Mindshare Communications and built a steady track record of successfully introducing unknown companies to the market and quickly building their visibility and leadership. Mindshare was instrumental in launching Calico Commerce, BeVocal, Epicentric, Moai Technologies and RandomNoise into the market. In the 2001, Hughes helped spearhead a spin-off agency called Ignite Public Relations. She and her team have successfully launched or generated market awareness for TagWorld, SHOP.COM, vFlyer, Factory Logic and NTT to name a few.

Carmen honed her skills while working at some of the Bay Area’s most established PR agencies, including Ketchum Communications, Neale-May & Partners, and Blanc & Otus. On the corporate side, Hughes worked at a leading provider of ERP applications.

Carmen graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from San Francisco State University. She currently serves as an advisor to the MIT/Stanford Venture Lab, a highly-regarded non-profit organization that presents business forums to promote and strengthen the process of starting and growing technology-based companies. She also volunteers with DealMaker Media, a highly-respected Silicon Valley organization that connects investors, executives, press, and technology innovators with first-hand information about leading-edge technologies, emerging trends and markets, and business opportunities.