Rick Hughes
Former CPO, Wisconsin
Rick Hughes comes to us after a career of procurement leadership with three states, Arizona, Illinois and Wisconsin. After leading Wisconsin’s Procurement Office for seven years, Rick joined Arizona in 2018 as the Deputy State Procurement Administrator. In the role, he assisted in rebuilding the State Procurement Office (SPO) which establishes the contracts for equipment, commodities, professional services, information technology and operations to support government services in Arizona. He also had a leadership role In Illinois procurement as Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Director. Later he was appointed to serve on the Executive Ethics Commission. Rick’s focus, in all three states, was to assure integrity in the process, raise awareness of procurement practices and rules and increase professionalism among practitioners, clients, and the supplier community.
He served as Treasurer of the NASPO ValuePoint purchasing cooperative and on its Management Board as a Regional Representative for about 5 years.
Prior to government, Rick had a breadth of financial, legal and accounting experience working for large and small firms and even owned his own law and consulting firm.
His commitment to the public procurement profession was also carried out when he served on the Board of Directors of the Universal Public Procurement Certification Council (UPPCC) representing NASPO for multiple terms ending December 2020. Rick earned his law degree from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) School of Law and graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a major in accounting.