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Arun Kumar
Global Head Information Security, Risk and Compliance
Professional Background
Arun Kumar is a seasoned professional with extensive experience across the realms of Information Security, Risk Management, and Compliance. Currently serving as the Global Head of Business Information Security, Risk and Compliance Management Technology at Novartis, Arun has proven his capability in steering cross-functional teams towards success by aligning their efforts with strategic objectives. His passion lies in facilitating human connections and fostering an environment conducive to learning and growth, which reflects strongly in the way he approaches organizational challenges.
With a solid educational background rooted in Engineering, Arun has mastered the art of translating the "Voice of Customer" into actionable insights. Throughout his career, he has been recognized for his remarkable ability to identify impact areas that energize teams and drive results. His insight into organizational design and development has empowered teams to be better prepared for the future by meticulously analyzing trends and determining the necessary steps to navigate them successfully.
Arun's previous roles further highlight his diverse skill set and commitment to fostering a culture of accountability and optimal organizational design. He has served as Head of IS Quality Assurance at Syngenta, where he ensured the delivery of high-quality services and compliance with regulatory standards. In his role as Team Head for Global Informatics Quality Strategy and Process Change at F. Hoffmann-La Roche, he was instrumental in driving process improvements that aligned with the company's strategic initiatives.
In addition to his corporate roles, Arun has made significant contributions to the fields of Business Development and Organizational Transformation during his tenure at TCS, where he worked with major global clients such as Aviva, AXA, and Philips. His dedication to process and service transformation has enabled organizations to function more efficiently while adhering to regulatory frameworks, including GDPR compliance.
Education and Achievements
Arun's educational journey began at Panjab University, where he studied Engineering, specializing in Electrical Engineering. He further honed his technical skills at the prestigious Punjab Engineering College, earning a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering. Arun's educational foundation in engineering not only equipped him with strong analytical capabilities but also fostered a disciplined and methodical approach to problem-solving, essential traits in his subsequent roles.
Over the years, Arun has developed a keen understanding of building Information Security, Risk, and Compliance teams from the ground up. He champions end-to-end accountability that includes optimally designing organizations, simplifying processes, and establishing robust systems, controls, and frameworks tailored for practitioners in mind. His expertise extends to compliance frameworks, DevOps, and the establishment of agile transformations, where he consistently measures and tracks performance with KPIs to ensure alignment with broader business objectives.
Arun's latest focus involves marrying his considerable experience with the drug discovery and development process. He is currently engaged in a project aimed at enhancing the Serious Adverse Event Process through predictive analytics, enabling timely interventions and ultimately improving patient outcomes. This innovative approach reflects Arun's commitment to leveraging technology and data analytics to drive meaningful improvements in healthcare.
Achievements
- Successful translation of the "Voice of Customer" into significant organizational needs that drive impactful results.
- Established and led high-performing Information Security and Risk Management teams that comply with industry best practices and regulatory standards.
- Spearheaded efforts towards the development and operationalization of compliance frameworks that assure quality within organizations, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector.
- Played a crucial role in preparing for regulatory inspections, notably with the European Medicines Agency, showcasing his comprehensive understanding of compliance requirements.
- Developed and implemented strategic organizational designs that enhance efficiency and foster collaborative work environments.
- Led a cross-functional team focused on predictive analytics for the Serious Adverse Event Process, demonstrating an innovative approach to operational efficiency in drug safety management.
With a career characterized by leadership, innovation, and a profound commitment to enhancing human connections within organizations, Arun Kumar continues to be a transformative figure in the fields of Information Security and Risk Management, making significant strides towards improving processes within the drug development landscape.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
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Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
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Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.