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Gavin Dufty
Vinnies / Policy and Research Manager / Executive and non Executive Director
Professional Background
Gavin Dufty is a distinguished member of the senior executive group at Vinnies, serving as the Manager of Policy and Research. His career is dedicated to addressing the challenges faced by disadvantaged and vulnerable households, with a keen focus on the socio-economic factors that contribute to their circumstances. At Vinnies, Gavin leads research initiatives and policy evaluations, particularly in relation to the changing dynamics of the cost of living. His publications detail the profound impacts that various economic factors have on household finances, notably accessible through Vinnies' dedicated portal on energy costs and support mechanisms.
In addition to his pivotal role at Vinnies, Gavin is an active member of various industry and government consultative groups, where his input and expertise in energy and cost-of-living issues are invaluable. Currently, he serves on the AEMO ISP Consumer Panel, reflecting his commitment to ensuring that consumer perspectives are included in critical energy infrastructure planning. His longstanding involvement with the Essential Services Commission Consumer Committee showcases his significant contributions to energy policy and delivery from 2016 to the present.
Gavin was also appointed to the Premier of Tasmania's expert panel on cost of living, underlining his expertise in evaluating and addressing consumer challenges in energy affordability. His engagement with numerous organizations—such as Jemena Energy Distribution Network’s customer committee, Origin Energy's consumer advisory panel, and the Australian Energy Regulator’s Customer Consultative Committee—exemplifies his leadership and influence in shaping energy policy across Australia. Furthermore, as a past member of the Australian Energy Market Commission’s Reliability Panel, Gavin has contributed to vital discussions on energy market reliability from 2009 through 2020. His extensive network and collaborative approach ensure that stakeholder views are represented in important policy decisions.
In 2020, Gavin proudly led a project for Vinnies, achieving Climate Active accreditation, showcasing his commitment to sustainable practices and responsible energy use. His work transcends mere policy-making; it aims to drive tangible improvements in the lives of those he serves.
Education and Achievements
Gavin's educational journey began at The Geelong College, where his interests in social sciences were first nurtured. He went on to pursue a Bachelor of Social Science at RMIT University, specializing in Socio Environmental Assessment and Policy. Further honing his analytical skills, Gavin studied Public Policy at the University of Melbourne, equipping him with the tools necessary to navigate and influence complex public affairs. His educational background lays a solid foundation for his impactful work in policy and research.
Throughout his career, Gavin has taken on various roles that have prepared him for his current leadership position at Vinnies. Prior to his current tenure, he served as a Senior Policy Officer and Acting CEO at the Victorian Council of Social Service, where he contributed significantly to social policy discussions and initiatives. Furthermore, his early career as a Policy and Community Development Officer at the Energy Action Group showcased his commitment to enhancing energy efficiency and advocating for consumer rights in the energy sector.
Gavin's achievements reflect his commitment to bettering the lives of individuals in society, particularly those who are most at risk of being overlooked in policy frameworks.
Achievements
Notable advocacy and thought leadership in areas affecting disadvantaged households and energy policy, through service on boards and panels, including the Energy Consumers Australia Reference Committee and the Essential Services Commission. His contributions have consistently aimed at presenting consumer-centric insights to policymakers and industry leaders.
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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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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.
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 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.