Suzanne Hill

Hi, I'm Suzanne Hill, Founder of a training company called AI for SMEs. We deliver practical training for business leaders from a non-technical background.

---

I’m Suzanne Hill, Founder of a training company called AI for SMEs. We specialise in delivering practical training in AI for business leaders from a non-technical background. With over 22 years as a strategy consultant, I've worked with more than 1,000 SMEs in 60 countries, helping them to grow nationally and internationally. I graduated with Distinction in two University Diplomas in AI and Advanced AI. This has enabled me to translate complex AI knowledge into language that SMEs understand. When I speak to business leaders about AI, they tell me they feel disoriented and out of their depth. They highlight three specific challenges: Firstly, information on AI is filled with tech-speak that leaves them feeling overwhelmed and they don’t know where to start. Secondly, the information is fragmented and only addresses a single aspect, but nobody is explaining how it all joins together to make sense from a business perspective. Thirdly the marketplace is flooded with so-called "AI experts," making it challenging for leaders to decide who to trust. At AI for SMEs, we speak your language. We provide an integrated training programme specifically designed for SMEs, taking you through an end-to-end process using frameworks, templates, and checklists, translating the tech-speak into language that makes sense for your business. The training provides you with the clarity, confidence, and tools needed to make AI work for your business. My own journey with AI began around 4 years ago, when I also experienced my own mix of excitement about the potential, confusion around the information, and fear for my own career longevity. So I went back to university to study AI, and find out what it was all about. I realised that there was nothing on the market that addressed the specific needs of SMEs, taking them through a logical process to implement AI in their business. By combining my experience and understanding of SMEs with my knowledge of AI, I’ve developed a training course that provides businesses with clear, actionable steps, from a source they can trust. My mission is to make AI accessible for everyone, enabling business leaders to feel confident, capable and optimistic about using AI to thrive in a digital future

International Business Manager at Brett Martin Ltd

August 1998 - September 2002

Responsible for export sales to North, Central and South America for a global manufacturer of polycarcbonate and PVC roofing products used in the construction industry. Built a network of over 50 distributors and agents and took sales from a neglible level to 16% of the company's total export sales. 75% of my time was spent working on-the-ground with local partners to increase business and negotiate major contracts. Key achievements included: - successfully took the company into the US market and established significant sales; this was a market where in the 10 years previous the company had made several unsuccessful attempts to enter. - set up a contract manufacturing agreement for rooflights with a multinational Mexican steel roofing producer, giving the company exclusive access to an additional US$ 8 million of sales volume in the Mexican market. - set up a Strategic Alliance with a Brazilian manufacturer under the 'drawback system' which enabled the company to import raw materials from Brazil and send back finished product, thereby circumventing the prohibitive import duties which otherwise made the product pricing uncompetitive - took a crash course in Business Portuguese to facilitate communication with Brazilian customers. I subsequently spoke at a conference in Portuguese to 200 architects in Porto Alegre to promote our products and encourage architects to specify our products in future projects. - undertook agressive marketing and brand building campaigns in several Central American markets which were so successful that the brand names became the generic term used to refer to the product in general - gained an excellent understanding of the cultural nuances in all Latin American markets and how this impacts on methods of business development, market entry and marketing. - established a distribution network across Canada for a niche product and created sales of US$1.5 million for this product alone.

Sales and Marketing Executive at Randox Laboratories Ltd.

April 1996 - July 1998

Appointed and managed a network of distributors & OEM customers in Central and Eastern Europe, Belgium, Luxembourg and South Africa. 75% of my time was spent in-market working with our local partners to increase business. Key achievements included: - increased sales in 1997 by 47%, a year when overall company growth was 8%. - won several large strategic accounts to supply Ministries of Health and National Laboratory Quality Assessment Schemes. - instigated the introduction of an adaptation to original product range, enabling the company to win a major contract to supply hospitals in Saudi Arabia. - was instrumental in setting up a long-term study with breweries and vineyards in South Africa to measure the antioxidant properties of different beers and wines. The study was important in establishing the company as the 'Thought Leader' in this pioneering area of research.

Sales and Marketing Executive at Randox

July 1995 - March 1996

Based in Madrid, I set up a branch office for the company which included the process of company and product registration. This was a new sales territory for the company. During my time in Madrid I organised a high profile conference on antioxidant research for 100 of Madrid's leading biochemists and cardiologists, which resulted in significantly increased sales and raising of the company profile.

Honorary Consul for Slovenia in Northern Ireland at Slovenian Consulate in Northern Ireland

2011 | Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK

Suzanne Hill was appointed by the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, her role as Honorary Consul for Slovenia in Northern Ireland is to promote trade, tourism and culture between Slovenia and Northern Ireland; to represent Slovenia in an official capacity and to be a point of contact for any Slovenian citizens living or working in or visiting Northern Ireland.

Managing Director at Handel Export Consulting

September 2002

Handel Export is a team of international sales, marketing and business development specialists, all with extensive on-the-ground international experience, working with companies to assist them to accelerate their global business development. The assistance we provide is via several different avenues: - Interim placements to drive international business development, sales and marketing. - Consultancy to include the following acitivies: •Formulating a corporate export sales and marketing strategy •Devising an export sales and marketing strategy for a specific geographical region or country •Improving business development and market share in exisiting markets •Planning market entry strategies for new markets •Development of overseas sales networks including agents, distributors, strategic alliance partners, joint ventures and direct market presence •Organising and planning in-market meetings and visits - Market research - Specialist training on export sales, international business development, international marketing. The company has a strong track record of achieving results which impact significantly on increasing sales. Handel Export's team has assisted over 700 companies to gain access to potential business partners in international markets, through a variety of short term and longer term projects. We have organised 32 trade missions in the last 9 years to 10 international markets, setting up individual meeting itineraries for participating companies. Core activities of Handel Export include assisting companies to identify and prioritise export markets, find agents and distributors, invest in international markets through setting up subsidiaries; identify partners for joint ventures, strategic alliances and technology transfers.

University of Ulster

1993 – 1994

PG Dip Applied Languages & International Business

University of Ulster

1989 – 1993

BA Hons

Concentration: Applied Languages with French & Spanish

AI for SMEs, AI Training, AI Masterclasses, Training in AI, AI for Business, Training in AI for business, AI Literacy, employee training in AI, practical training in AI, AI training for small business, how to use AI in my business, AI strategy for business, AI consulting for small business, AI training for business, AI education for non-tech leaders, AI workshops for executives, AI upskilling for managers, AI Literacy programmes, AI implementation guidance, AI strategy development, AI tools for business, AI trends for 2025, AI ethics in business, AI and automation, AI and Digital Transformation, AI and the future of work