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Stewart Desson
CEO Lumina Learning
Professional Background
Dr. Stewart Desson is a distinguished figure in the field of business psychology, widely recognized for his innovative contributions to organizational development and leadership. As the CEO of Lumina Learning, an international selection and development company, Dr. Desson has dedicated his career to enhancing people and organizational effectiveness. With a keen interest in fostering inclusivity and democratic processes within organizations, he collaborates with like-minded professionals globally to create impact. Stewart's passion is clearly reflected in the development of immersive learning resources that empower organizations, with his flagship product being the acclaimed personality model, Lumina Spark.
Stewart's expertise extends beyond organizational development; he is also a highly experienced trainer and consultant, possessing extensive knowledge in psychometrics. His areas of specialization include team effectiveness, personal awareness, communication, influencing skills, executive coaching, and leadership skill development. This diverse skill set enables him to offer valuable insights that drive positive change and development within organizations.
Education and Achievements
Dr. Desson’s educational journey is marked by notable academic accomplishments. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Business Psychology from the University of Westminster, where he focused on operationalizing methods to minimize bias in popular personality models, reflecting his commitment to scientific rigor. In addition, Stewart possesses two Master’s degrees: one in Operational Research from the University of Birmingham, encompassing mathematical modeling, programming, and statistics, and another in Change Agent Skills & Strategies from the University of Surrey. His Bachelor’s degree in Operational Research and Management Studies was earned at the University of Leeds, providing him with a solid foundation in analytical and operational frameworks.
His academic achievements are complemented by his professional roles. As a member of the Management Board of the Association for Business Psychology (ABP), Stewart plays a vital role in shaping the future of business psychology in the UK and beyond. His status as a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) highlights his commitment to professional development in the fields of human resources and organizational performance.
Notable Contributions
Dr. Desson's career includes significant positions in various reputable organizations, including his tenure at British Airways as Operational Research Manager and his role in managing the Customer Services Change Programme at Heathrow Airport. His earlier endeavors saw him contributing to the learning and development landscape as a consultant and trainer with various esteemed companies, demonstrating his adaptability and breadth of knowledge within the sector.
Furthermore, Dr. Desson has served as a visiting lecturer on the MSc in Business Psychology at the University of Westminster, sharing his expertise with future leaders and practitioners in psychology and business. His previous engagement as ICG Thought Leader at the Internal Consulting Group showcased his ability to influence and lead thought in organizational consultancy practices.
As a dedicated advocate for people development, Stewart is committed to mentoring and inspiring a community of professionals who implement Lumina Learning's offerings to elevate organizational effectiveness. His contributions to the field have led to practical improvements in team dynamics and personal growth for many individuals and organizations.
Through the lenses of the analytical and the humanistic, Dr. Desson continues to bridge the gap between quantitative insights and qualitative human behavior, enriching the lives of those he engages with in both professional and personal contexts.
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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.
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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.
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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 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.
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