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Sofia De KoningSD

Sofia De Koning

Customer Transformation & Service Excellence

€1,200/day
Lausanne, CH
15+ years

Average response time: 1 hour

About Sofia

Customer Transformation Leader with 20 years of experience helping organizations elevate customer experience, service culture, and operational performance.

I specialize in customer-centric transformation and service excellence, applying Lean principles and the Toyota Production System to commercial and customer-facing operations.

My work focuses on:
- Customer experience transformation
- Customer insights and brand experience design
- Service culture and leadership development
- Operational excellence and Lean service operations
- Strategic foresight and future customer strategy

I have worked across Europe, the Middle East, and Japan, primarily in the automotive and premium automotive sectors, supporting headquarters, regional offices, distributors, and service networks in strengthening customer-facing operations and operational performance. I also bring experience from market research and management consulting across industries including luxury goods, smart cities, banking, and FMCG.

My work draws on insights from omotenashi (Japanese hospitality) to help organizations build internal capabilities and embed a sustainable customer-centric service culture.

Alongside my consulting work, I am pursuing a PhD in Japanese Studies at the University of Zurich, researching how service practices and institutional norms shape market entry and customer interaction in Japan.

Available for consulting engagements, interim roles, CX diagnostics, workshop facilitation, bespoke trend analysis, and keynote talks on customer experience, service culture, and emerging trends.
  • Swedish

    Native or bilingual

  • English

    Native or bilingual

  • French

    Fluent

  • Dutch

    Conversational

  • German

    Conversational

  • Italian

    Conversational

  • Japanese

    Conversational

Can work on-site
Lausanne (up to 50km), Geneva (up to 50km), Zurich (up to 50km), Lucerne (up to 50km), Lugano (up to 50km)

Experience

  • YUKI CONSULTING FZE,
    Founder & Managing Director
    AUTOMOBILE
    January 2017 - Today (9 years and 5 months)
    Dubai, United Arab Emirates
    Led major customer-centric transformation programs across Lexus Middle East (UAE, KSA, Qatar, Iraq, Bahrain), embedding Omotenashi principles to elevate sales, service, and brand experience Conducted qualitative and quantitative customer research, translating insights into customer journey strategies, process enhancements, brand standards, and performance dashboards Developed recruitment and training initiatives to embed a customer-centric culture across all levels, including multi-market training events across the GCC and India Supported Toyota Woven City (Japan) with foresight research on future mobility, hospitality, and next-generation customer expectations Delivered strategic trends research and governance consulting for Lexus Europe, aligning insights with regional and global goals
    Omotenashi Sales Excellence Customer Journey Service Culture Customer Strategy
  • LEXUS EUROPE,
    Customer Strategy Consultant
    AUTOMOBILE
    January 2014 - January 2017 (3 years)
    Brussels, Belgium
    Developed "The Lexus Experience", a comprehensive customer transformation initiative based on research, launched across 30 European markets Defined vision, journey stages, process and facility standards, mindset training programs, and KPIs Established the project as a global Lexus benchmark for customer experience excellence
    Customer Journey Customer Experience Change and Transformation Management Training Measurement strategy
  • TNS KANTAR, MARITZ RESEARCH,
    Customer Experience Consultant
    AUTOMOBILE
    January 2008 - January 2014 (6 years)
    Munich, BY, Germany
    Led the implementation of a unified customer feedback strategy and portal for Lexus and Toyota across 30 European markets Managed CX programs and Kaizen-based performance tools across Toyota's and Lexus' European network
    Customer Strategy market research Account Management Business intelligence

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Education

  • PhD Japanese Studies
    University of Zurich
    PhD
  • MA, International Politics
    Centre Européen de Recherches Internationales et Stratégiques (CERIS)
    2012
    MA, International Politics

Skill set

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