About us
Management Team
Richard Kefs - Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer
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. He moved on to become Head of Communication Product Development in a subsidiary of Bell Atlantique.
He returned to France in 1989 and joined the management team at Apple Computer Europe. He then formed his own consultancy business, Aptimal Technology, which advised marketing and sales departments of major companies on how to use new technologies.
Soraya Kefs - Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer
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. 1989 saw the launch in Paris of Aptimal Technology, specialised in tailor made technological developments for major companies.
She co-founded FastBooking in 2000.
Guillaume de Marcillac – Chief Financial Officer
Guillaume de Marcillac joined FastBooking in early 2008 after 4 years within the Expedia group where he held various roles, the latest being worldwide CFO of the corporate travel division of Expedia ($1.5 billion, 650 employees).
Guillaume combines strong entrepreneurial, consulting as well as large group skills with a strong focus on growth.
He holds a diploma from both Ecole Supérieur de Commerce de Paris (top French business School) and the London School of Economics (MSc in Finance) . He started his carreer with Bain & Co, a leading strategy consulting firm. During his 7 year tenure with Bain, Guillaume worked in Paris, Geneva and San Francisco on various strategic projects including retail and travel related subjects. Guillaume then joined EuroDisney and became Director of Strategic Planning focusing on theme park and hotel related initiatives (strategic partnership with hotel chains and independent hotels). In 2000, Guillaume participated in the creation of Egencia, an internet based corporate travel agency which subsequently became Expedia Corporate Travel.
Jean Louis Boss - Vice President Marketing
Jean Louis Boss has been Vice President Marketing of FastBooking since it was created in May 2000. In this capacity he manages the development and promotion of the company and is responsible for developing the FastBooking distribution activity.
On his graduation from business school in 1982, Jean-Louis Boss began his career in the Marketing Department of the Readers Digest. In late 1984, he joined Yves Rocher in Issy-les-Moulineaux to take over the Marketing Statistics department, gaining considerable direct marketing experience. This led him to become Sales Director of the mail order department of Yves Rocher France and then 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 a proven expert in direct marketing and mail order sales. His experience in building brand awareness at international level has enabled him to bring his savoir-faire to FastBooking in terms of sales positioning and development and in the quality approach offered to both hoteliers and Internet clients.
Yauric Mercier - Vice President Sales EMEA
Yauric Mercier was trained at the Glion Hotel School and went on to obtain a Masters in Hotel Marketing before beginning his career in the luxury hotel sector as Deputy Front of House Manager at the Richmond Hotel (Relais & Châteaux) and then Housing Manager at La Réserve (Leading Hotels of the World). He worked his way up the echelons of the Hôtels et Résidences du Roi Group, coming in as Front of House Manager in 1993 and leaving 3 years later having held the position of USA Sales Manager. He then ran the prestigious Montalembert hotel in Paris, followed by the no less select Bel Ami. It was at this stage that he discovered and became a staunch supporter of the FastBooking solutions, which led him to join their sales team some years later.
Yauric Mercier joined FastBooking in 2002 and is now the VP Sales EMEA. Together with his team his mission is to increase FastBooking’s position within Europe. His experience of the international hotel market and his multi-facetted professions make him a key player in the company’s development.
Francis Louis Passerini - General Manager Italy
Having held the position 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, this consummate hotel and marketing professional created his own Internet service company in 2004. This consultancy role brought him into contact with a number of key players in Internet strategy and development within the Italian tourist industry, not only independent hotels and major groups but also travel agencies and tour operators.
It was at this stage that Francis Louis Passerini first discovered the FastBooking solutions and started recommending the FastBooking Engine to his client hotels. Two years ago he proved his commitment to the product by becoming the company’s sales representative in Italy.
Henry Teng - General Manager Asia
Henry Teng has more than 20 years of experience in the tourism industry ranging from travel, hotel and Internet businesses. Henry first started out his career in 1984 as a Travel Assistant in Travel 2819 Pte Ltd. In 1986, Henry joined Sime Travel (S) Pte Ltd as a Marketing Assistant and rose through the file and rank to become a valuable player in its strategic operations contributing significantly to the overall profitability growth.
After 10 years, Henry joined SRS-WORLDHOTELS to expand their regional presence. Later on, as an Internet e-Consultant with a leading international web consultancy company, Henry serviced most of the major international hotel brands on how to drive online performance.
In late 2001, Henry brought Fastbooking into the Asia Pacific Rim and in the process enlisted many hotels. In September 2003, Fastbooking Asia Pte Ltd was established in Singapore to spear-head the regional growth.
Henry Teng has a MBA (Strategic Marketing) with Distinction from the University of Hull, United Kingdom. In 2002, Henry was accepted into the prestigious "Who's Who in the World"
Ajay Wahi - General Manager India
Ajay Wahi is the General Manager of FastBooking India. He has been associated with the software industry for over 20 years and has a rich and diversified experience of setting up development centres for multinational companies and steering them to higher levels of productivity and quality.
Ajay has worked with companies such as NIIT ( India's leading IT consulting organization) and Mantas ( a world leader of anti-money laundering software solutions and now part of the Oracle group).
Overall Ajay has a rich and diversified experience of running organizations, creating long term vision Strategies , managing Sales, leading Technological and Technical functions besides strong general management experience in HR and Finance.