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Erin Stubbs
Design, Brand & Corporate Innovation Leader // Nike + IDEO Alum
Professional Background
Erin Butner Stubbs is a dynamic leader firmly entrenched in the design and innovation landscape as the Head of Design at Valiant Labs, Nike's innovation incubator. In this pivotal role, Erin spearheads a team of multidisciplinary designers dedicated to utilizing the human-centered design process to partner with entrepreneurs. The team's mission is to define and test groundbreaking business ideas that promise to deliver novel, revenue-generating services and experiences. By focusing on the future of Nike’s business and enhancing consumer relationships, Erin is at the forefront of shaping how consumers and brands interact in engaging, meaningful ways.
With a strong belief in creativity, curiosity, communication, and empathy as the cornerstones of effective design, Erin embodies the principles of human-centered design. She has consistently emphasized that these qualities are essential for crafting solutions that resonate with real-world users. This perspective not only drives her team's work but also contributes profoundly to the culture of innovation at Nike.
Career Journey
Before joining Nike, Erin cultivated her expertise as a design and innovation consultant at IDEO, where she played a crucial role in projects that spanned a multitude of industries, including food, finance, retail, and real estate. Her experience in designing omnichannel customer experiences and promoting brand purposes showcases her versatility and the breadth of her design capabilities. Erin is particularly passionate about leveraging design research and inspiration, rapid prototyping, and effectively communicating ideas as vital components of the design process.
Throughout her extensive career, Erin has held a variety of leadership roles across prestigious design organizations. Her refined skills and creative insights have led her to serve as the Global Design Director for Nike, focusing on innovation and the future of consumer experience and retail. Erin's positions at IDEO, from Design Lead to Principal Designer, further emphasize her progressive approach to design, highlighting her ability to elevate brand engagements through strategic design solutions.
Her early roles included significant positions at renowned advertising agencies, including Arnold Worldwide and BBDO San Francisco, where she honed her skills in communication design and art direction. This strong foundation has enabled her to foster collaboration and champion fellow creators, always believing in the transformative power of empathy.
Education and Professional Development
Erin's commitment to education and lifelong learning is evident throughout her academic history. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Arts and a Bachelor of Science in Advertising, with emphases in Creative Advertising and Spanish, from the University of Colorado Boulder. Her rigorous education was further complemented by studying Continuing Education in HTML, CSS, Flash, and ActionScript at the Bay Area Video Coalition, showcasing her dedication to staying abreast of new technologies and design methodologies. Additionally, she has enriched her global perspective by earning a Certificate in Spanish Language, History, and Culture from the Universidad de Málaga.
Erin’s educational journey has been complemented by a range of professional development opportunities. She has been pivotal at some of the world’s leading organizations, including serving as the Design Thinking & Executive Innovation Coach at Logitech, further establishing her expertise in guiding teams toward innovative thinking and effective design strategies.
Notable Achievements
Erin's professional achievements resonate with those aspiring to achieve excellence in the fields of design and innovation. As a champion for creativity and collaboration, she has played a critical role in fostering a culture where new ideas can flourish within her teams. Her leadership at Nike Valiant Labs has not only accelerated the exploration of new business opportunities but has also positioned Nike as a trailblazer in consumer engagement through innovative design approaches.
Erin has continually been recognized for her ability to foster empathy-driven design strategies, which have led to significant advancements in product development and consumer experience enhancements across multiple industries. Her dedication to mentorship and support for fellow creatives speaks volumes about her leadership style and her belief in the power of collaboration in achieving success.
Alongside her hands-on experience, her deep understanding of cross-disciplinary design principles allows her to create holistic and coherent design narratives that resonate with target audiences. Erin's artistic pursuits, including her love for drawing and cooking, not only reflect her personal passions but also influence her approach to design, adding layers of richness to her creative process.
Conclusion
With a robust foundation in the arts, a career rich in diverse design experiences, and an unwavering passion for innovation, Erin Butner Stubbs has established herself as a leading voice in the design community. As she continues to inspire those around her through her work at Nike, Erin embodies the intersection of creativity, empathy, and strategic thinking that is essential for thriving in the ever-evolving world of design and business. As she looks toward the future, Erin remains committed to championing innovative practices and fostering a culture that nurtures creativity and collaboration for all.
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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 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.
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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 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.
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