Scott Pugh has spent the past 15 years building teams and markets across Asia, most recently as the GM of APAC for Figma. Outside the office, he’s obsessed with some of the toughest endurance challenges in the region — including Hong Kong’s infamous 298-kilometre Four Trails Ultra Challenge.

In this conversation, Scott opens up about the moment he told himself he “couldn’t run”, how he rewired that script, and what ultra-endurance has taught him about resilience, failure, leadership, and never giving up. We unpack the endurance mindset, how to debrief failure without ego, and why the biggest breakthroughs happen when you choose goals you have no right to complete.

Highlights

• How a disastrous 800-metre school race convinced Scott he wasn't a runner for 15 years

• The brutal reality of Hong Kong Four Trails and the humbling lessons from two DNFs

• Why failure is a better teacher than success, if you debrief like an operator

• How Scott uses endurance mindset principles to lead high-performing teams across Asia

• The power of big, uncomfortable goals to drive growth in life and leadership

• Why his best thinking happens while run-commuting through Singapore

• The surprising overlap between ultra runners and elite sales performers

  
  

Connect with Scott:
→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottpugh

Execs Who Run:
→ Website – https://execswhorun.com
→ LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/execs-who-run
→ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/execswhorun

Jason:
→ LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonhunt
→ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jasonzane_

If this episode resonates, share it with a friend who runs.
Follow Execs Who Run on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and leave a quick review — it helps more leaders find the miles that matter.