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Ben Zils
Director at Kiewit
Professional Background
Ben Zils is a seasoned professional with extensive experience in operations finance, transformation, strategy, and commercial analysis. His career is marked by a progressive journey through various roles within the Kiewit corporation, where he has developed a robust understanding of financial controls and operational efficiencies. Currently, Ben serves as the Director of Operations Finance at Kiewit, one of North America's largest construction and engineering companies. In this capacity, he leads initiatives to streamline financial operations, enhance reporting accuracy, and drive organizational transformation.
Before stepping into the director role, Ben held the position of Business Controller for Kiewit Energy US, where he played a pivotal role in overseeing budget management, financial planning, and performance metrics tailored for the energy sector. His tenure there was characterized by his ability to meld strategic decision-making with rigorous financial analysis, which notably advanced the company’s project outcomes and profitability metrics.
Prior to his contributions in the US, Ben served as the Business Controller for Kiewit Mexico. His expertise in navigating complex financial landscapes in international markets significantly contributed to the successful execution of various multi-million dollar projects. His experiences across both the US and Mexican markets have endowed him with a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities in cross-border operations.
Ben's foundational professional experiences were shaped while working at PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers)—one of the Big Four accounting firms. There, he initially started as an intern before moving up to a managerial role. His time at PwC was instrumental in honing his analytical skills and enhancing his understanding of accounting practices, audit processes, and commercial strategy. It provided him with a solid foundation in consultancy, preparing him for the complexities of the financial and operational landscape that he would later encounter at Kiewit.
Ben also began his career as a Staff Accountant at Pinnacle Consultants, where he gained valuable experience in financial reporting and analysis. This role helped him develop a keen eye for detail and a strong grasp of the principles of sound financial management which serve him well in his current responsibilities.
Education and Achievements
Ben Zils earned his degree in Accountancy from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, a prestigious institution known for producing top-notch professionals in finance and accounting. His academic background equipped him with the essential skills and theoretical foundation to thrive in the finance sector.
During his time at Arizona State University, Ben was actively involved in various student organizations and projects that supplemented his learning and offered him opportunities to cultivate leadership and teamwork skills. His education laid the groundwork for his successful transition into his various roles, notably giving him the necessary insights into financial regulations and compliance that he applies in his day-to-day operations today.
Notable Achievements
Throughout his career, Ben has accumulated numerous achievements that underscore his expertise in the fields of operations finance and strategic transformation. At Kiewit, he has been instrumental in implementing process improvements that have resulted in enhanced operational efficiencies and significant cost reductions. His analytical approach to financial management has led to better decision-making protocols and strategic planning initiatives that have been adopted across different sectors of Kiewit's operations.
Moreover, Ben's leadership style promotes a collaborative environment that thrives on collective input, ensuring that stakeholders at all levels are engaged in the financial planning process. His strategic foresight has positioned him as a trusted advisor within his organization, earning him recognition from his peers and senior management alike.
Ben Zils continues to push the boundaries of operational excellence in the finance industry, making him a significant asset to Kiewit and a respected figure in the financial community. His journey reflects a commitment to professional growth, excellence in financial operations, and a transformative approach to strategic management.
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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.
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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.