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David Beckman
Senior Manager Internal Audit - US Consumer Products & Services
Professional Background
David Beckman is a highly accomplished Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), and Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) with an impressive track record spanning over 20 years in leadership and accounting. His experience includes more than 8 years in Accounting and Auditing, and he has proven expertise in Public Accounting and Internal Audit. David has successfully led numerous engagements from inception to completion, showcasing his ability to manage complex projects and deliver results that exceed stakeholder expectations.
At present, David holds the position of Senior Manager of Internal Audit for US Consumer Products & Services at American Express, where he plays a pivotal role in overseeing audit engagements and ensuring compliance with industry regulations. Prior to his current role, he served as Manager of Cyber & IT Process Audit at American Express, where he was instrumental in enhancing audit processes. He began his career in Risk Assurance at PwC, first as an Intern and then as a Risk Experienced Assurance Associate, establishing a strong foundation in audit methodologies and client interaction.
David's unique skill set enables him to effectively communicate audit risks and findings to Senior Audit Management and the business Senior Leadership Team. His proficiency in summarizing complex IT-related risks and opportunities makes him a valuable asset in bridging the gap between IT and non-IT professionals.
Education and Achievements
David Beckman's educational credentials are a testament to his commitment to excellence. He earned both his Master’s and Bachelor's degrees in Accounting with an impressive GPA of 4.0 from the prestigious W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. This academic distinction illustrates his dedication to his field and provides him with a solid foundation in accounting principles and practices.
Beyond formal education, David's certifications as a CPA, CISSP, and CISA demonstrate his specialization in accounting and information security, making him exceptionally qualified to assess risks in financial and technological infrastructures. He is well-versed in identifying relevant risks and implementing appropriate controls, which is crucial for safeguarding an organization’s assets and enhancing operational efficiency.
Notable Roles and Responsibilities
1. Senior Manager, Internal Audit
At American Express, David leads the Internal Audit team for US Consumer Products & Services, where his responsibilities encompass:
- Overseeing comprehensive audit engagements and ensuring compliance with relevant policies and regulations.
- Summarizing audit risks and communicating findings to stakeholders, ensuring clarity and understanding among all business units.
- Fostering relationships with business partners to streamline audit processes and facilitate cooperative engagements.
2. Manager, Cyber & IT Process Audit
In his role here, David:
- Directed audit processes that ensured the integrity of IT systems and compliance with established security measures.
- Worked collaboratively with IT and operational teams to identify opportunities for improvement in process efficiencies.
3. Senior IT Auditor at PetSmart
David gained valuable experience as a Senior IT Auditor where he was responsible for:
- Conducting thorough assessments of IT systems and processes.
- Delivering actionable insights on potential risks and improvements to the company's technology operations.
4. Risk Assurance Associate at PwC
During his tenure at PwC, David developed his audit proficiency by engaging with a diverse portfolio of clients, ensuring best practices in risk management, and providing assurance on compliance and controls.
5. Infantry, United States Marine Corps
Before embarking on his accounting career, David served as an Infantry member with the United States Marine Corps, instilling in him discipline, leadership, and the ability to thrive under pressure. His military background complements his professional achievements by contributing to his structured approach to problem-solving and risk assessment.
Skills and Expertise
David Beckman's extensive experience equips him with a robust skill set that is integral to his current and future successes. His core competencies include:
- Audit Risk Assessment: David excels in identifying, assessing, and prioritizing risks within financial and operational systems.
- Compliance and Regulation: His knowledge of compliance requirements and ability to execute audits ensures organizations adhere to necessary guidelines.
- IT Risk Assessment: A key strength of David is his ability to articulate technically complex issues regarding IT systems to non-technical stakeholders, fostering cross-departmental understanding.
- Leadership and Communication: David has demonstrated exceptional leadership capabilities, driving teams towards achieving audit goals and fostering a culture of transparency and accountability.
- Relationships Building: His adeptness at building relationships with partners enhances collaboration in audit endeavors, ultimately leading to increased efficiencies.
Conclusion
Throughout his career, David Beckman has consistently exhibited his capacity to manage and lead audit engagements successfully. His rich mix of education, certifications, and diverse professional experience positions him as a leader within the accounting and auditing communities. His approach not only focuses on compliance and risk management but also aims to create value through effective communication and relationship management. As he continues to evolve in his career, David remains dedicated to leveraging his expertise to enhance the operational frameworks within the organizations he serves.
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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 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.
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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.