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Edward Berks
EGM, Partnerships at Xero
Professional Background
Edward Berks is a distinguished commercial leader, renowned for his ability to optimize B2B go-to-market strategies and their execution. He possesses a rich background in building and leading high-performing sales and partnerships teams, with a keen focus on collaboration within broad ecosystems, including indirect channels and influential partners. His track record in the software and cloud industries spans multiple leadership roles, showcasing his expertise and innovation in the field.
Throughout his career, Edward has held prominent positions in several high-profile companies, significantly contributing to their growth and success. He has been instrumental in shaping the strategic direction of major firms like Microsoft and Remedy Corporation, where he honed his skills in sales leadership and market expansion.
Edward's entrepreneurial spirit shines through his co-founding of BlackSpider Technologies, a cloud security provider backed by private equity. Under his leadership, the company achieved remarkable milestones and was successfully sold to a UK PLC, demonstrating Edward’s ability to navigate complex market environments and achieve profitable outcomes.
Currently, he is serving as the Global Executive General Manager (EGM) of Partnerships at Xero, where his leadership continues to drive the company’s expansion into the financial partnerships realm. His previous experience as Global EGM and Director of Business Platform, along with his roles at Informatica and Microsoft, reinforce his capabilities in leading successful business strategies across UK, EMEA, and global markets.
Education and Achievements
Edward Berks holds a Bachelor of Science with Honours (2.1) in Business Management and Production Engineering from the prestigious University of Nottingham. This educational foundation has provided him with a keen understanding of both the technical and managerial aspects of business operations, empowering him to thrive in competitive sectors.
His vast experience across various organizations has equipped Edward with a diverse skill set, enabling him to lead teams towards achieving nuanced business goals. His tenure as Sales Director for Dynamics at Microsoft is particularly noteworthy, showcasing his ability to drive sales growth in a highly competitive market. Additionally, his work with multiple startups and established companies positions him as a seasoned expert in scaling business operations effectively.
Key Achievements
- Founder Director of BlackSpider Technologies: Edward played a pivotal role in developing BlackSpider into a leading cloud security provider, which led to its successful acquisition by a UK PLC.
- Leadership at Xero: As the Global EGM of Partnerships, Edward has been central in forging key partnerships that enhance Xero’s market presence and financial service offerings.
- Extensive Experience: Edward has held sales leadership positions in leading international firms like Microsoft and SAP, where he contributed to significant sales and revenue growth.
- Influence in the Tech Industry: His roles across various technology companies highlight his ability to drive innovation and create strategic alliances that benefit business growth.
Edward Berks exemplifies the qualities of a leader who is not only committed to his own success but also dedicated to uplifting teams and organizations. His strategic insights and experience position him as a valuable asset in the B2B landscape, inspiring others to follow in his path of professional excellence.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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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