Who is Hubertus Bigend from Pattern Recognition and what is their importance?

Hubertus Bigend is a Belgian, who is the founder of Blue Ant. Cayce dislikes Bigend, whom she's heard from her friend Margot in New York is a real 'Lombard'. Margot once dated him, and as things progressed, she had been increasingly disillusioned. Bernard refers to him as 'Hub'. He drives a Hummer that is a smaller version of the original. It is almost as uncomfortable, but for the kid glove leather seats. He sometimes wears a chocolate brown stetson.

Hub's passion is marketing, and over the course of the nove, he reveals himself as a footage-head, claiming it is one of the most brilliant marketing ploys of the young century. He believes it conforms to a standard of excellence to which he not only relates but would like to pursue. Bigend hires Cayce to find the source of the footage that is being published online.