About
Brand Counsel · Brisbane, QLD
Trusted counsel when your brand and reputation are on the line.
Demetri Hughes is the Managing Director of 1Up Communications — a Brisbane-based brand consultancy advising executives and boards across Australia on brand strategy, reputation management and crisis communications.
Get in touchA practitioner who has done this work at the highest level.
Demetri Hughes is the Managing Director of 1Up Communications, a Brisbane-based brand consultancy operating as brand counsel to mid-tier and large organisations throughout Australia. His work focuses on brand strategy, reputation management, crisis communications, and corporate communications — advising CEOs and boards when the stakes are highest. His postgraduate research concentrated on the niche area of litigation crisis management and the growth, protection and management of brands through challenging environments. That academic foundation underpins a practice built on direct, evidence-based counsel. Demetri also serves as a sessional academic lecturer at the University of Queensland (since 2016), where he established the Demetri Hughes Marketing Mentor Program — a pro bono initiative supporting marketing students from disadvantaged backgrounds, including those experiencing financial hardship, disability, homelessness risk, and Indigenous students. Earlier in his career, Demetri co-founded a law firm alongside one of Queensland's leading commercial litigation lawyers, giving him an unusually deep understanding of the intersection between legal risk, corporate disclosure, and reputation. He founded 1Up Communications in 2016.
Credentials and Recognition
- FAMI CPM — Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute, Certified Practising Marketer
- Life Member — Australian Marketing Institute (awarded 2017 by the AMI National Board)
- AMI Certified Practising Marketer of the Year — Queensland (2016 and 2018)
- Queensland State Chair — Australian Marketing Institute (2015–2019)
- Deputy Chair, AMI National Accreditation Board — oversaw accreditation of 41 marketing programs across 18 tertiary institutions
- Bachelor of Business Management — University of Queensland
- Dual Master of Business (Integrated Marketing Communications and Public Relations)
- Sessional academic lecturer, University of Queensland Business School (since 2016)
- Speaker at industry events including the Australian Dental Industry Association, Institute of Managers and Leaders, Club Managers Association Australia, Griffith University Strata Title Conference, World Tourism Forum Lucerne, and Australian Insurance Law Association
Founded on personal experience of resilience.
Demetri grew up in Logan, south of Brisbane, in a single-parent household. He balanced full-time study and full-time work from an early age, and by his early twenties had helped grow a property development group and its subsidiaries to a combined portfolio of over $15 million — while completing his undergraduate degree. That background shapes the directness and pragmatism he brings to client engagements today.
Ready to talk about your brand or reputation?
Demetri works with a select number of clients at any one time. Initial conversations are confidential and without obligation.
Get in touch