Sekisui SPI, the manufacturer of Kydex thermoplastics, has appointed Bernadette Chupela as customer experience manager. The company has recently developed its appLab and expanded its designLab, following which it saw an opportunity for Chupela to lead the business in a new direction.
The appLab and designLab service areas are not solely focused on products and processes, but instead are designed for what the company describes as “journeys of discovery and exploration”, with a greater focus on the experience than specific solutions. These departments require high levels of customer contact and interaction, which Chupela had already begun to define.
With 24 years of manufacturing experience, Chupela’s began her career at Sekisui SPI in 2005 in international customer service, supporting all customers in countries outside of North America, and quickly moved up the ranks of SPI’s customer service roles. Holding titles such as customer service supervisor, international sales associate, customer service manager, and most recently, senior customer collaboration manager, Chupela has honed her customer experience skills throughout her career at SPI.
One of Chupela’s greatest achievements at the company is transitioning the customer service department to a customer collaboration one, focused on not only serving the customer, but also working with them to create lasting relationships and unexpected solutions.
“It has been an honour to work alongside someone who always puts the customer first in both head and heart. She continues to lead by example. She continues to inspire all of us to keep our customers at the forefront of everything we do. I am excited to see where she takes us next,” said Ronn Cort, president & COO of Sekisui SPI.
As customer experience manager, Chupela has the freedom and flexibility to incorporate several disciplines of brand development, customer communication and customer collaboration. She develops, manages, supervises and oversees the many processes in the appLab and designLab innovation centres, coordinating between prospective and existing customers to connect them with service brands. She is the first and last responsible when it comes to customer evaluation and feedback.
“I am thrilled to be taking on this new role and going out of my comfort zone to grow in a new direction. I look forward to learning from failures and embracing our successes. Most importantly, I get to continue to work across all departments with so many incredible folks that inspire me daily. I’m excited to encourage customers to visit our facilities in Bloomsburg and show them how our products can help them change their journey. My favourite part has always been building relationships with our customers, and this will remain as we share our enthusiasm for what we do, and help them to understand why SPI is such a special place. That is what truly creates the customer experience,” stated Chupela.
