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Dennis Lasko
Director, Fresher at Divert
Professional Background
Dennis Lasko is a seasoned professional specializing in innovation and design thinking, particularly in customer-facing and back-of-house operations. He has a wealth of experience in enhancing supply chains and developing efficient in-house operations that align with the values and mission of top-tier brands. With an impressive career that spans various high-profile organizations, Dennis has a knack for identifying opportunities for improvement and driving actionable strategies that yield measurable results.
Dennis's career trajectory began with a solid educational foundation that includes an MBA from Dartmouth College's prestigious Tuck School of Business and a Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management from Northeastern University. This robust academic background has empowered him to approach complex operational issues with both analytical rigor and creative insight.
Throughout his professional journey, Dennis has held several key positions at prominent companies, including a significant tenure as the Fresh Supply Chain Innovation Manager at Ahold Delhaize. There, he played a pivotal role in transforming supply chain processes to ensure maximum efficiency and effectiveness, ultimately benefitting both the organization and its customers.
In addition to his role at Ahold Delhaize, he served as Operations Director at Wine Gallery Stores, where he combined his extensive knowledge of supply chains with strategic operations management, enhancing the overall customer experience and operational performance of the stores.
Further down his career path, Dennis was the CEO and Co-Founder of Pantry, where he showcased his entrepreneurial spirit by creating a business that catered to the needs of consumers while emphasizing innovation in supply chain management. This leadership experience further solidified his ability to launch and scale businesses effectively.
His history with esteemed consulting firms such as McKinsey & Company and Opera Solutions highlights his exceptional analytical abilities and leadership qualities. At McKinsey, Dennis contributed to various projects focused on supply chain optimization, leveraging best practices that would later inform his own operational strategies in future roles. Additionally, Dennis worked in significant operational roles at the Walt Disney Corporation in their Home Entertainment Division, where he was instrumental in streamlining supply chain functions that enhanced overall service delivery.
Perhaps one of his foundational experiences was as Customs Business Process Manager at Expeditors International of Washington, Inc, followed by the role of Export Operations Manager. Here, he gained invaluable insights into the complexities of international logistics and regulations that play a critical role in supply chain management.
Education and Achievements
Dennis Lasko's academic credentials are reflective of his commitment to continuous learning and professional development. He earned his MBA with a focus on Management from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, an institution known for its rigorous academic standards and emphasis on leadership and entrepreneurship. This advanced degree provided him with key insights into managing businesses effectively and understanding the intricacies of high-level supply chain operations.
Prior to his graduate studies, Dennis obtained a Bachelor of Science in Supply Chain Management from Northeastern University. This undergraduate program equipped him with a solid understanding of supply chain processes and logistics, which he has successfully applied in numerous professional settings throughout his career.
Dennis's contributions to the field of supply chain and operations have not gone unnoticed. His innovative approaches and strategies have led to several successful projects and initiatives that have significantly impacted the organizations he has been a part of.
Achievements
Dennis has a proven track record of delivering results and achieving operational excellence. His work has consistently focused on aligning supply chain strategies with business objectives, ensuring that the operations reflect the overarching goals of the organizations he serves.
At Ahold Delhaize, he was at the forefront of implementing initiatives that enhanced the supply chain's agility and responsiveness to market changes, which is crucial in today's fast-paced retail environment. His experience at Wine Gallery Stores further exemplifies his capability to integrate innovative supply chain solutions with customer-facing initiatives, driving both business growth and customer satisfaction.
As a Co-Founder and CEO of Pantry, Dennis demonstrated his entrepreneurial vision by developing a company that prioritized customer needs while optimizing supply chains for operational efficacy. His leadership in this venture served as an illustrative example of how innovation and design thinking can lead to sustainable business practices.
In his consulting work with McKinsey & Company and Opera Solutions, Dennis not only refined his skills in supply chain optimization but also developed a keen understanding of how to implement and scale effective solutions across various sectors. His strategic insights have helped companies navigate complex operational challenges, making him a sought-after expert in the field.
With numerous roles within operational management and consulting, Dennis is well-versed in transforming logistical practices and aligning them with broader business strategies. His commitment to harnessing innovation in supply chains ensures that he remains at the cutting edge of industry trends, continuously enhancing the operational capabilities of the organizations he partners with.
In addition to his rich professional experience, Dennis's educational background and relentless pursuit of knowledge have allowed him to establish himself as a thought leader in supply chain management and operations. He champions the integration of design thinking into back-of-house processes, offering immense value to businesses looking to leverage their operational strengths.
Overall, Dennis Lasko exemplifies a dedicated, innovative leader with a unique blend of operational expertise and strategic insight. His career reflects an unwavering commitment to driving excellence in supply chain management and design thinking—a valuable asset to any organization seeking to thrive in a competitive landscape.
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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.
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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 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.