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Chris Kopchik
Director, Infrastructure & Operations at Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP
Professional Background
Chris Kopchik has dedicated his career to the field of Information Technology with a specialized focus on the Public Sector and Legal vertical markets. With a profound understanding of the technological and operational needs of these sectors, he has cultivated a wealth of experience over the years that positions him as a respected leader in the industry. Chris's career trajectory has seen him evolve from an analyst role to an engineering position, subsequently stepping into project management, and ultimately attaining director-level responsibilities. This journey speaks volumes about his strategic thinking ability, resourcefulness, and capacity to solve complex problems while managing multiple layers of project executions.
As a strategic thinker, Chris has honed his skills in leading cross-functional business and IT stakeholders. He is effective in advancing analytic capabilities with an eye on meeting dynamically changing business requirements. His track record demonstrates his ability to bridge the gap between technology and business, ensuring that IT solutions are not only technically sound but also aligned with the overall goals of the organization.
Education and Achievements
Chris completed his Bachelor of Science in Management at the esteemed Georgia Institute of Technology's Scheller College of Business, where he gained foundational knowledge in management principles that would serve as a springboard for his successful career in IT. His educational accomplishments were enhanced by an early experience at St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School, further shaping his analytical mindset and his leadership capabilities.
One of Chris's most notable achievements is his certification as a Project Management Professional (PMP). This credential highlights his expertise in project management frameworks, methodologies, and best practices, which he implements diligently in his work. His hands-on experience in the professional services arena has equipped him with substantial skills in proposal drafting and contract management, vital components for driving projects forward efficiently and effectively.
Career Journey
Chris's career has included prominent roles at several prestigious organizations. Currently, he serves as the Director of Infrastructure & Operations at Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP. In this capacity, he is pivotal in overseeing the firm's IT infrastructure initiatives and operations, ensuring that they align with organizational objectives and deliver value across departments. Previously, he held the significant position of Interim CIO at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice LLP, where he guided technology strategic planning and operational execution during a transitional phase for the firm.
Chris has also made substantial contributions as a Systems Engineering Manager at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC, and earlier as a Senior Project Manager at BAE Systems Information Technology. His experience managing networks at Sealy Inc. as a Project Manager and working in systems design at Boeing Information Services underscores his extensive background in IT operations, data center design, and systems implementation. Additionally, Chris interned at the Virginia Department of Transportation and began his career as a Clerk/Typist at the US Department of Justice, where he laid the groundwork for his future in government-related IT services.
As a former Systems Engineer and Project Manager at Union Square Technology Group LLC, Chris’s multi-faceted experience has spanned various dimensions of information technology, from engineering to architecture. This broad perspective allows him to perceive projects holistically and lead teams toward successful completions.
Notable Skills and Specialties
Throughout his career in Information Technology, Chris Kopchik has developed a robust set of skills that distinguish him in the industry. His PMP certification is a testament to his professionalism and commitment to the highest standards in project management. In addition to his project management capabilities, Chris's technological expertise includes:
- Enterprise Network Design and Implementation
- Systems Implementation
- IT Operations and Maintenance
- Data Center Design
- Firm-Wide Rollouts
These specialties ensure that Chris remains at the forefront of IT service delivery, enabling organizations to optimize their technology investments and enhance operational efficiencies. His problem-solving acumen and tactical management skills further empower him to address challenges effectively and keep projects on track.
Community Engagement and Thought Leadership
Chris is not only a leader in technical execution but also an advocate for knowledge sharing within the technology community. He engages actively with various professional networks and forums aimed at elevating the discussion around technology in the public sector and legal markets. Whether through participating in industry conferences or contributing to relevant discussions online, Chris’s thought leadership is recognized among peers.
In summary, Chris Kopchik is a seasoned IT professional whose career journey showcases a blend of strategic management and deep technological expertise. His commitment to continuous improvement ensures that he remains adaptable to the evolving landscape of information technology. Chris's wealth of experience positions him to make significant contributions in any future endeavors, driving innovation and operational excellence in the sectors he is passionate about.
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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.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Clay is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Clay as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Clay offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Clay takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
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.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
Nexus is Clay's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
Clay makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Clay's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
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.
Clay isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Clay instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Clay is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Clay can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Clay is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
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.