Company

In 1985, having graduated from Tufts University in Medford (Massachusetts) with a Masters in electrical and computer engineering, Richard Kefs became a research specialist at Boston’s prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he spent two years carrying out significant computer research on parallel operating systems. He moved on to become Head of Development for communication products in a subsidiary of Bell Atlantic.

He returned to France in 1989 and joined the management team at Apple Computer Europe. He then joined Aptimal Consulting, which advised major companies on how to use new technologies.

In 2000, Richard Kefs co-founded FastBooking.

Her studies in electrical engineering took her to the United States, where she carried out significant research work in speech and image processing at Tufts University in Medford (Massachusetts). From 1982 to 1988 she explored the different techniques of image coding and speech synthesis and analysis through a number of projects subsidized by the American government. Throughout this period, she published several research-related works and took part in various technological conferences within the United States.

Following a Masters and a Doctorate in her chosen field and a period with the A.I. Dupont Institute as consultant on an important research program, Soraya Kefs returned to France and decided to form her own company. In 1989 she launched Aptimal Group (technology and consulting activities), specialized in tailor-made technology development for major companies.

In 2000, Soraya Kefs co-founded FastBooking.

Henry Teng has more than 20 years of experience in the tourism industry ranging from travel and hotel to Internet businesses. He started his career in 1984 in Travel 2819 Pte Ltd. In 1986, he joined Sime Travel (S) Pte Ltd as Marketing Manager and rose through the ranks of this company.

Henry Teng joined SRS-WORLDHOTELS in 1996 to expand their regional presence. Later, as an Internet Consultant with a specialized international consultancy company, Henry worked with most of the major international hotel brands helping them develop their online business and drive online performance.

In late 2001, Henry Teng launched Fastbooking in the Asia Pacific and in the process enlisted numerous hotels. In September 2003, FastBooking Asia Pte Ltd was established in Singapore to spear-head the regional growth.

Henry Teng has a MBA with Distinction in Strategic Marketing from the University of Hull, United Kingdom.

After holding the positions of Marketing Manager at the Hotel Plaza and Sales and Marketing Director at the Laguna Palace Hotel, both synonymous with the best in Venetian hotels, Francis Louis Passerini created his Internet service company in 2004. In this role he met and consulted to key players in the Italian tourist industry. It was as a consultant that he became interested in FastBooking solutions and began recommending FastBooking to his client hotels. He extended his commitment to FastBooking by becoming the company’s sales representative in Italy prior to becoming Managing Director of Fastbooking Italian subsidiary.

Ajay Wahi is the General Manager of the FastBooking India, a wholly-owned subsidiary and the company’s development arm. He has been involved with the software industry for over 20 years and has set up development centers for numerous multinational companies.

Ajay Wahi worked with companies such as NIIT (India’s leading IT consulting organization) and Mantas (a world leader in anti-money laundering software solutions, now part of the Oracle Group).

Ajay Wahi has a rich, diversified experience running organizations and the implementation of long-term strategies. He has also occupied positions as Sales Director and Technical Director, and has managed teams in finance and human resources.

François Maine joined FastBooking in January 2010 as Chief  Technology Officer. He brings more than 20 years experience in IT to the company.

François Maine graduated from l’École des Mines in Paris in 1989. He began his career at Cap Gemini, where over a period of 10 years he held positions of increasing responsibility for complex systems integration for key accounts.

François Maine next applied his skills to managing the technical teams of Internet start-ups including iPIN (California) where he was Vice President of Engineering, and Zebank (Paris, France) where he served as Chief Information Officer. He also served as Chief Technical Officer for the Groupe Casino. More recently, as Chief Technology Officer he took part in the creation of the online games subsidiary of Bouygues.

Pierre-Charles Grob joined FastBooking in 2011. He began his career with Accor in New York in 2001 where he was instrumental in the creation of the North American Marketing department for the Sofitel and Novotel brands. Already involved in the still burgeoning Internet, he was responsible for online distribution for these two brands in North America. In 2003, he joined the New York-based Monaco Government Tourist Office to promote the destination and its luxury hotels to VIP clients and travel agents. An experience that later lead him to join the prestigious Monte-Carlo SBM group where he successively held responsibilities as Sales Promotion Manager, and Marketing and E-Distribution Manager for the group’s hotels, spa and restaurants. He contributed significantly to the SBM’s commercial development, particularly via electronic platforms (Internet and GDS).

Pierre-Charles Grob has a degree in marketing and management from ESSCA (l’Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Commerciales d’Angers).

Jean-Louis Boss has been Vice President of FastBooking since its creation in May 2000, serving first as Vice President, Marketing and today as Vice President, French Markets.

A graduate of l’Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Rouen in 1982, Jean-Louis Boss began his career in the Marketing Department of the Readers Digest. In late 1984, he took charge of Marketing Statistics at the Group Yves Rocher. He soon became Director of Mail Order Sales for Yves Rocher France and later Director of International Development for the Group. He remained over 15 years in the company, one of the key players in the mail order sector.

Jean-Louis Boss is an expert in direct marketing. His experience in brands with strong international reputations enables him to bring to FastBooking clients major expertise in terms of positioning and online sales development.

Paul Ponçon brings 10 years experience in the world of e-business to FastBooking. He created eTravel France for Amadeus. Under his direction, eTravel France became the most important of Amadeus’ online activities in Europe.

Paul Ponçon is the co-founder of Hubwoo.com, a world leader in cloud procurement, certified “Powered by SAP®”, where he successively occupied the functions of Operations Director and Sales Director. He was a consultant in e-payment and e-procurement for the CEGOs Group. As Business Development Manager at American Express he was responsible for the launch of the corporate card and the purchasing card in France. His career began as an account manager for Syseca in charge of sales of information systems for accountancy, finance, sales and distribution. Before joining FastBooking in 2010, he was Sales Director for a division of Automatic Identification and Mobility at IER, a subsidiary of Bolloré Group.

Paul Ponçon holds a masters degree in Management from Paris Dauphine University (MGE).

Valérie Michelin joined FastBooking in March 2010, where she manages the accounting, finance, legal and human resources departments. She has been involved in these fields for more than 20 years, primarily in operations outside of France, and has acquired vast experience in team management and internal process implementation.

In 1989, Valérie Michelin joined Bouygues as a financial analyst. In 1991, she began her international career with a two year stint with the Cegelec/Alcatel Alstom in Indonesia where she worked with the internal audit team of the local subsidiary to implement cash flow optimization processes. Returning to France, she worked for seven years for major American groups serving as Head Accountant at Masters Foods (Mars Group) and SC Johnson and participating in numerous cross functional projects, notably implementation of SAP modules and the creation of a Shared Service Center. In the latter firm she moved to the Human Resources department where she became Compensation and Benefits Manager.

In 2000 Valérie Michelin returned to Asia, initially to Shanghai where she held positions as Administration and Financial Manager for Chargeurs Group (textile industry) and for Hachette Distribution Services, a new subsidiary of Lagardère Group, in which she actively participated in its growth. With a move to Singapore in 2005, she joined the Lycée Français of Singapore as Administration and Finance Director and interim Human Resources Director.

Before joining FastBooking, she worked for a year as Finance Director and as an outside consultant at Filorga Laboratories.

Valérie Michelin is a graduate of ESC Le Havre and holds a Masters Degree in International Project Management from ESCP (ESCP-EAP).

Damien Balbo is an expert in the Internet and new technologies. His tenure at FastBooking began in 2007 as Product Manager responsible for the launch of the Hotel Traffic Builder program. Two years later as Senior Product Manager he took the reins of seven product lines. Today he directs the development of the company’s entire portfolio of industry-leading online hotel solutions.

In his previous position at Dyson, Damien Balbo was already responsible for the development and implementation of e-commerce and online strategy, principally for the firm’s European markets.

Damien Balbo holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Groupe ESSEC and a Bachelor of International Business & Finance from Sheffield Hallam University.

As Director of Website Creation/SEO, Thibault guides the marketing, business development and production management for the hundreds of desktop and mobile websites created by FastBooking each year for clients the world over.

Thibault has been active in Internet-related development and marketing activities since 1999 when, as a member of the SQLI team, he headed the production of sites for Nestlé Waters, Editions Législatives and AOM.

Over the next four years, first with Freefund.com and then with Renault, he continued producing websites and honed his capabilities in community management and multi-media content development.

For Index Europe, a provider of content and multi-media technology for cell phones, he managed the European business unit realizing a 40% increase in turnover in 12 months.

He was cofounder of Les Cahiers du Football, a monthly online publication and website for which he served for five years as Editor-in-Chief and General Manager.

Thibault joined Microsoft as Production and Web Marketing Manager in 2009 where he created and managed an internal web agency of 13 persons responsible for the development, design and integration of 40 Microsoft sites (products and audiences).

Thibault joined FastBooking in 2011.