Bernard Lukey

Bernard Lukey (born Bernard Ernest Lukey on February 3, 1969) is a prominent figure of the Russian Internet ^[1] ,^[2] the General Director of Yandex Europe AG and Yandex Services AG.

Biography

Lukey was born on February 3, 1969 in Vevey, Switzerland to Elizabeth and Karl-Heinz Lukey. He has a younger brother called Christian, born in 1971.

His parents were hôteliers and run the Eurotel in Montreux for 35 years. His father, born in Berlin in 1938 from a Russian emigrant mother and a German father, grew up in Austria (Salzburg region) where he graduated a hotel school. His mother was born in Schaffhausen and they both met while working at the Villars Palace.

Bernard Lukey graduated Political Sciences (orientation in mass-communication and multinational marketing) from the University of Lausanne in 1991. During his studies he was involved in several student associations, the most famous one being the MJE (Mouvement de la Jeunesse Européenne) which edited a monthly newspaper, ran conference and organized students trips to European institutions. This activity led to him receiving the Medaille Robert Schuman for Europe from the FVS Stiftung in 1989 and being subsequently nominated at the Fondation Jean Monnet pour l’Europe advisory Board.^[3]

Business career

After graduating from the University of Lausanne, Lukey worked on Nestlé Suisse S.A. / Switzerland. In 1994-1996, Senior Product Manager Nescafe.
His taste for international challenges and projects brought him to Russia in 1996, where he worked as a Marketing Director for Nestle Food LLC. In 2000-2002 as a VP Marketing for ru-Net Holding (including Yandex and OZON).

After the birth of their second child, the family decided to move back to Switzerland. From April 2002 – Sept 2005, Lukey headed the Out-Of-Home Marketing and Business Development unit of NESPRESSO http://www.nestle-nespresso.com

• OZON.ru /Russia

Oct 2005 – April 2011. Chief Executive Officer of the leading e-commerce in Russia.

In 2006-2008, launched new BUs as electronics, moms & kids, home & deco, beauty, sports. In 2009, opening of one of the largest logistics center in the Eastern Europe “Borovlevo 2”, Tver region ^[4]

in 2010 launch of OZON.travel, the leading online travel agency in Russia.^[5]

Under his leadership, OZON was the first Russian tech company to raise a total of $120M from internationally high-profile VC Index Ventures , Holzbrinck Ventures, Intel, ru-Net Holdings.^[6][7]

In 2010, nominated by Association of Russian Managers of member of Top 100 CEOs in Russian ^[8]

He is President and Board member of OZON Holding

He is a regular speaker/panelist in top tech conferences ^[9]

• Yandex

Since 2011 – to present : relocated in Switzerland to run Yandex International Sales Division. General Director of Yandex Europe AG and Yandex Services AG.^[10]

Responsible for developing revenues from International Accounts and develop international partnership for Yandex’s AD and B2B services sales ^[11] Expanded commercial network with offices in US and China. ^{[12] [13]}

• Board responsibilities

Bernard Lukey serves on the Boards of 3 Russian tech businesses and acts as a private angel investor in the European tech start-up scene. Bernard is member of YPO – Alpine chapter since 2011

Personal life

He is married to Karolina Lukey since 1998 and they have two children together: Alexandra (2000) and Karl (2002).

Bernard and Karolina are philanthropists and contributors to several organizations and associations engaged in promoting young artists and helping young entrepreneurs start their first business.

References

1. *http://www.lopinion.fr/5-mars-2015/bernard-lukey-yandex-google-est-bien-plus-agressif-en-russie-qu-en-europe-aux-etats-unis
2. *http://www.ewdn.com/2011/03/10/bernard-lukey-the-appetite-of-russians-for-online-shopping-is-as-strong-as-it-is-for-westerners/
3. *http://www.cmo.com/interviews/articles/2013/4/4/_one_out_of_every_tw.html#gs.zyS0QlU
4. *http://www.lecourrierderussie.com/economie/carriere/2010/10/bernard-lukey-on-est-peut-etre-les-seuls-a-etre-en-conformite-avec-la-loi-russe-de-protection-du-consommateur/