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Ciara Flood
Co-Founder at &Open • The world’s first happiness platform • Start gifting today 🎁 andopen.co/on-demand
Professional Background
Ciara Flood is a distinguished professional known for her impactful contributions within the fashion industry and her keen insights into business dynamics. With a robust foundation in both business and politics, paired with specialized knowledge in strategic fashion marketing, Ciara has carved a unique niche for herself as a thought leader and innovator. As the Co-Founder of &Open, she leads initiatives that marry creativity with commercial acumen, focusing on promoting sustainable and ethical practices in fashion.
Prior to her successful tenure at &Open, Ciara showcased her expertise in various prominent roles, including Director at Makers & Brothers, where she propelled the brand to new heights. Her journey in fashion began with NET-A-PORTER, where she flourished as an Assistant Buyer, honing her eye for emerging trends and luxury goods. Ciara then advanced to her role as Buyer at Selfridges, specifically in the Designer Studio and Contemporary categories, where she played a pivotal role in curating an exclusive assortment that attracted a discerning clientele. Following this, she utilized her expertise as a Freelance Buyer at Browns Fashion, contributing to their unique fashion statements and marketing endeavors.
Ciara's professional path reflects an unwavering commitment to excellence, creativity, and a passion for the evolving landscape of fashion. Her breadth of experience across various notable organizations underscores her ability to navigate complex market environments and trend forecasting, making her a sought-after influencer in the fashion marketing sphere.
Education and Achievements
Ciara Flood's educational background provides a solid foundation for her acclaimed career. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Business and Politics at Trinity College, Dublin, a prestigious institution known for fostering critical thinking and analytical skills. This degree equipped her with an in-depth understanding of the socio-political factors that influence business operations, particularly in a globalized world.
Building on her undergraduate studies, Ciara pursued a Master's degree in Strategic Fashion Marketing at the London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London. This program further sharpened her marketing proficiency and strategic insight, focusing on the rapidly changing paradigms of fashion retail and consumer behavior. The integration of both academic pursuits has enabled Ciara to effectively connect with various stakeholders, champion innovative solutions, and stay ahead of industry trends.
Her educational achievements, combined with her hands-on experience, have equipped her with a unique perspective critical for making informed decisions in the complex tapestry of fashion marketing.
Achievements
Throughout her career, Ciara Flood has amassed numerous achievements that underscore her expertise and commitment to innovation within the fashion industry. As Co-Founder of &Open, she has been instrumental in creating a platform that not only highlights contemporary fashion trends but also emphasizes ethical practices and sustainability within the industry. Her leadership role involves strategizing ways to engage audiences and build meaningful connections through consciously curated fashion narratives.
In her previous role as Director at Makers & Brothers, Ciara was pivotal in re-envisioning the brand's identity and establishing it as a key player in the market. Her strategic direction ensured that the brand resonated with audiences looking for craftsmanship, quality, and individual expression.
As a Buyer at Selfridges and Browns Fashion, her keen eye for style and trends allowed her to select pieces that embodied luxury and innovation. Ciara’s contributions helped shape collections that were not only commercially successful but also reflective of the evolving tastes of modern consumers. Her freelance buying experience has further broadened her understanding of the competitive retail landscape, allowing her to adapt to diverse brand needs and market shifts effectively.
Ciara Flood represents the confluence of creativity and strategy, and her journey in the fashion world is a compelling narrative of success, leadership, and a commitment to fostering positive change in fashion marketing.
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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 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.
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