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Dave Rolston
Chief Executive Officer for Zed Medical
Professional Background
Dave Rolston is an accomplished and highly successful CEO with a wealth of experience in managing enterprises across diverse industries. Throughout his impressive career, he has demonstrated his capabilities in overseeing organizations ranging from startups with no revenue and limited staff to large corporations with thousands of employees generating over $1 billion in revenue. Dave's prowess as a pioneer in the fields of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) is well recognized, owing to his role as the author of one of the first standard textbooks on AI, a testament to his deep technical knowledge and innovative approach to technology.
An expert in navigating complex corporate landscapes, Dave has earned a stellar reputation for his ability to turn around struggling companies, particularly those facing unique challenges related to human relationships and interpersonal dynamics. His leadership style emphasizes collaboration and understanding, which allows him to transform organizational cultures for better performance and employee engagement.
With extensive experience spanning multiple sectors, including defense and intelligence, aerospace, healthcare, and entertainment, Dave has cultivated a multi-faceted understanding of how to drive growth and achieve strategic objectives. His deep technical expertise in various fields equips him with insights that are essential for making informed, data-driven decisions in today's fast-evolving market.
In addition to his technical and managerial skills, Dave has a robust background in sales and marketing, with a particular knack for international business operations and expansion. As a veteran of fast-paced, high-growth environments, he blends his high energy with seasoned executive acumen to inspire teams and lead organizations toward sustainable success. With best-selling books and polished public speaking skills, he has established himself as a thought leader in the industry, garnering respect and attention from peers and audiences alike.
Education and Achievements
Dave Rolston's academic qualifications lay a solid foundation for his exemplary career. He pursued a PhD in Computer Science and a Master of Science in Engineering (MSE) specializing in Industrial Engineering, both from Arizona State University, reflecting his commitment to understanding complex systems and advanced technological concepts. Additionally, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) in Civil Engineering from Northern Arizona University, showcasing a diverse educational background that spans multiple disciplines.
Throughout his career, Dave has held numerous prestigious positions, underscoring his expertise and leadership. Notably, he served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors at SalesBoost, effectively guiding the organization's strategic direction. As the Chief Executive Officer at Zed Medical and other influential roles, he navigated the intersection of technology and healthcare, driving innovations that have lasting impacts.
Dave's tenure at Intel Corporation as a Senior Director allowed him to contribute to groundbreaking initiatives in technology, while his role as Chief Technology Officer at KeyCast further demonstrated his ability to merge technical prowess with executive leadership.
His time as CEO at companies like Tirocorp, BehaviorMatrix, and siPort highlights his versatility and his strategic approach to enhancing organizational performance. Dave has also served as the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors at Image Metrics, illustrating his capability in overseeing complex enterprises from the boardroom.
In various capacities, including Division General Manager at TRW and senior roles at Honeywell, he accumulated rich experiences that have refined his management style and strategic insights. Each position has added layers to his expertise, enabling him to effectively address challenges and capitalize on opportunities where others may falter.
Notable Achievements
Dave's career is replete with commendable achievements that speak to his exceptional leadership and innovative thinking. As a best-selling author, he has published numerous works that cater to both technical and general audiences, demystifying the complexities of AI and ML in an engaging manner. His writing not only showcases his expertise but also serves as a resource for aspiring professionals and established practitioners alike.
Dave's contributions to various organizations have consistently resulted in significant turnaround stories. He has been instrumental in revitalizing companies facing significant hurdles, particularly those where interpersonal dynamics played a critical role in their struggles. His thought leadership and human-centric approach have established him as a go-to executive for companies seeking transformation.
His capacity to thrive in demanding environments is underpinned by a keen understanding of both high-level strategy and day-to-day operations. By fostering strong relationships with team members and stakeholders, Dave has created cultures of transparency and collaboration that drive exceptional performance.
Dave Rolston's dedication to creating impactful organizations goes beyond numbers. His experience and qualifications highlight a career built on mastery, resilience, and a forward-thinking mindset that continuously seeks to redefine success. By enhancing the frameworks of the companies he leads, he ensures that they are not only profitable but also sustainable and beneficial to their communities and employees.
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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.
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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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.
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.
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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 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.