Team
Ilkka Huotelin - Founder and CEO
Ilkka Huotelin is the Founder and CEO of Be Customer Smart.
Ilkka has over 20 years of experience in business development related to different international industries around the globe.
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He is a business leader and creative problem solver focused on how to tackle clients' business challenges in a way that gives them a clear competitive advantage. In business, his distinct style can be described as innovating and thinking out of the box and merging new ideas derived from different industries together. The key ingredients for that are the data and the organisations' internal 'silent knowledge', as they reveal patterns leading to insights that in turn provide customer centric solutions.​​
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Ilkka is also a guest lecturer on the subject of AI application in luxury hospitality at the GLION, the higher institute of hospitality and luxury management in Montreaux, Switzerland.
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Seraphima Bogomolova - Deputy Director and Success Manager
Seraphima Nickolaevna Bogomolova's area of expertise encompasses hospitality management, communications, and AI media generation.
As the Be Customer Smart team member Seraphima is responsible for communications with Be Customer Smart clients, and styling of the company's website, including creation of AI generated illustrations, talking images, and motion videos. She also works on wording of texts for the company's marketing and PR related materials and presentations.
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Seraphima is a multifaceted professional with a diverse background in education, marketing, publishing, and the arts. She holds a BA degree from the Institute of Foreign Languages and a BSc degree from Haaga-Heili Institute in Helsinki, Finland. She has served as a Marketing Director, Publisher, and Editor in Chief, and has founded the digital magazine Avantoure.
Her talents include writing, organisational skills, creative visualisation, analytical thinking, and innovation. She has lived and worked in multiple countries, showcasing her adaptability and global perspective.​
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Yannick Bouyidou - Customer Experience Trainer
Yannick Bouyidou leads our training side of the business.
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He is an expert with an international experience stemming from his luxury hospitality experience at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company L.L.C in such locations as California, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Aruba, and Qatar, with particular focus on customer experience and quality improvement transformation.
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Apart from cooperating with Be Customer Smart on customer training, Yannick also serves as a visiting lecturer at Hospitality and Business schools - Business School Lausanne (MBA), Swiss Business School Geneva (MBA), EU Business School Geneva (Master), Franklin University (MBA), Swiss Education Group (MBA) & César Ritz Hospitality School (BBA & Master), creating and delivering courses in Luxury, Customer Loyalty, and Entrepreneurship.
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