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Ben Kazakoff
General Manager Human Resources at AHS Hospitality - a Chandler Macleod Group Business
Professional Background
Ben Kazakoff is a highly skilled human resources practitioner with a rich and diverse background, boasting expertise in talent acquisition, recruitment, HR policy, employee relations (ER), industrial relations (IR), and HR systems. His extensive experience has been developed in some of the world’s leading organizations, where he has honed his skills to foster workplace engagement and productivity.
Currently, Ben serves as the General Manager of Human Resources at ahs hospitality, where he leverages his in-depth industry knowledge and professional acumen to drive strategic HR initiatives that align with the organization’s goals. In this role, he oversees comprehensive human resources functions, ensuring that the company's staffing needs are met efficiently and effectively. Ben's leadership philosophy is marked by a results-oriented approach, and he is renowned for his engaging personal style that facilitates open communication, ensuring that stakeholders at all levels feel valued and heard.
Before taking on the role of General Manager, Ben held various significant positions within ahs hospitality, including HR Manager for Victoria and Tasmania. His journey in HR has also seen him fulfill pivotal roles at prestigious companies such as Mondelēz International and L'Oréal. At Mondelēz, he served as an HR Consultant, where he provided critical insights and solutions to enhance talent management strategies. His tenure at L'Oréal included various leadership roles, including HR Manager for Projects, HR Manager for Corporate & Supply Chain, and Senior Recruiter. In each position, Ben showcased his ability to manage complex HR projects efficiently while aligning talent acquisition efforts with the broader business strategy.
Ben began his career in recruitment, where he carved out a niche in sourcing top talent in dynamic environments. He has worked as a Strategic Sourcing Partner at National Australia Bank and as a Recruitment Consultant, specializing in nabRetail for Victoria and Tasmania. His recruitment journey began at Schweppes Australia and BWS Recruitment, where he developed foundational skills that propelled him into the HR industry.
Education and Achievements
Ben Kazakoff's educational background reflects his commitment to professional growth. He commenced his academic journey at Glen Waverley Secondary College, laying the groundwork for a successful career. He furthered his education by pursuing an Advanced Diploma in Business with a focus on Marketing at Holmesglen Institute. This formal training, combined with his extensive practical experience, equips him with a unique skill set that enhances his effectiveness as an HR leader.
Throughout his career, Ben has achieved numerous accolades and recognition for his contributions to the field of human resources. His ability to engage stakeholders, manage change effectively, and focus on results has earned him a reputable standing within the HR community. He is known for ensuring that HR practices not only meet organizational goals but also foster an inclusive and diverse workplace culture. Ben continually seeks out new opportunities to enhance his HR knowledge, ensuring that he remains at the forefront of industry trends and best practices.
Achievements
Throughout his distinguished career in human resources, Ben Kazakoff has celebrated multiple professional milestones, reflecting his dedication and impact in the industry. His expertise in talent acquisition stands out as a key achievement, having successfully sourced and retained top talent across various sectors. This ability has facilitated organizations in achieving their strategic objectives while maintaining high employee satisfaction and engagement levels.
In his current capacity at ahs hospitality, Ben has transformed the HR function, implementing innovative strategies that streamline human resources processes and foster a collaborative work environment. His emphasis on exceptional stakeholder management has been instrumental in enhancing communication and fostering relationships that drive employee engagement initiatives.
Moreover, Ben’s extensive experience across diverse industries, including hospitality, consumer goods, and banking, highlights his versatility and ability to adapt to different workplace cultures. His roles at global corporations such as L'Oréal and Mondelēz International have provided him with a wealth of knowledge and insight into the complexities of human resources in large-scale operations.
Ben Kazakoff continues to exemplify the essence of a modern HR leader, combining his passion for people with his strategic mindset to drive meaningful change and foster positive workplace environments. He remains committed to personal and professional development, continuously seeking new challenges and opportunities to make a meaningful impact in the realm of human resources.
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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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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.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
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 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.