# James McHugh

> James McHugh founded K2 Partnering Solutions in 1997 and Tquila in 2010. He builds and backs technology services businesses through investment and partnerships, and competes in offshore and Etchells sailing.

- **Role:** Founder and General Partner at Tquila
- **Organizations:** Tquila, K2 Partnering Solutions, GreatRok, Circlace
- **Nationality:** Irish
- **Known for:** Founded two businesses spanning enterprise recruitment and technology venture building., Class40 winner in the 2022 Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race., Part of the Class40 and IRC Two winning crew in the 2025 RORC Transatlantic Race.

## Career timeline

- **1997** — Founded K2 Partnering Solutions.
- **2010** — Founded Tquila; K2 incubated its initial Salesforce consultancy.
- **2015** — Accenture acquired Tquila UK.
- **2017** — Stepped down as K2 chairman as Inflexion made a minority investment.
- **2020** — Publicis Sapient AI Labs launched with Publicis Sapient, Elder Research and Tquila.
- **2022** — Won Class40 in the Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race with Brian Thompson and Alister Richardson.
- **2023** — Publicis Groupe acquired the full stake in Publicis Sapient AI Labs.
- **2024** — Tquila led investment in AoraNow alongside ServiceNow and announced the Paloma Fund’s first close.
- **2025** — Tquila won Class40 and IRC Two in the RORC Transatlantic Race.
- **2026** — His crew received the Etchells Worlds race-eight trophy.

## Achievements

- Founded two businesses spanning enterprise recruitment and technology venture building.
- Class40 winner in the 2022 Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race.
- Part of the Class40 and IRC Two winning crew in the 2025 RORC Transatlantic Race.

## Latest updates

- **2025-01** — Completed his first transatlantic race with Tquila, winning Class40 and IRC Two.
- **2025-12** — Appeared on James Reed’s All About Business podcast to discuss venture building and AI.
- **2026-05** — His Tquila crew received the individual race-eight trophy at the Etchells Worlds.

## Links

- Website: https://tquila.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jpmchugh

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/james-mchugh
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-09