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John L. Sullivan
Chief Resiliency and Security Officer - Vice President| Board Member to Tech startups and Venture Capital Firms| University Fellow| Harvard and MIT grad| Marine| Forbes & Fast Co contributor
Professional Background
John L. Sullivan is a distinguished Chief Security and Resiliency Officer with an extensive and versatile career spanning multiple industries. His wealth of experience encompasses pivotal roles in crisis management, pandemic response, enterprise risk management, and business continuity, demonstrating a robust ability to ensure the security and resiliency of organizations in an ever-evolving landscape. His expertise extends to executive protection, duty of care, supply chain resiliency, and security technology, making him a well-rounded leader in the field of security and resilience.
In addition to his corporate achievements, John has an impressive history of contributing to various tech startups. As a board advisor or member of the board of directors for 20 dynamic tech companies, he has played a critical role in shaping their strategic direction, particularly in areas concerning cybersecurity and risk management. His multifaceted career path exemplifies a commitment to enhancing organizational safety and efficiency through innovative solutions and pragmatic leadership.
Education and Achievements
John's academic credentials are as notable as his professional achievements. He holds an MBA from The Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a distinguished institution known for its rigorous programs in business and technology. In addition, he earned a Master of Arts in Government from Harvard University, solidifying his comprehensive understanding of the strategic and political ramifications of security issues.
Moreover, he is a proud University Fellow in cyber security, showcasing his commitment to staying at the forefront of his field. Beyond these notable degrees, John has completed extensive training in national security at the FBI Academy in Quantico and criminal investigations at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia. His strong educational foundation equips him with the analytical skills necessary to navigate complex security landscapes.
John’s accomplishments have earned him recognition not only in the corporate sector but also in the realm of academia and thought leadership. As a Forbes Contributor and a member of the Forbes Tech Council, he shares his insights and expertise with a wider audience, contributing to important discussions regarding technology and security. Additionally, he is a member of the Fast Company Executive Board, where his insights continue to influence the dialogue surrounding business innovation and security best practices.
Notable Contributions and Roles
Throughout his career, John has held several high-level positions that reflect his leadership capabilities and industry expertise. He has previously served as the Global Chief Security and Resiliency Officer and Vice President at Boston Scientific, where he significantly advanced the organization’s security posture and resiliency frameworks. His service as a U.S. Marine Veteran adds to his extensive experience, instilling in him a strong sense of duty and commitment to safety.
In his quest to enhance security frameworks, John is recognized as a Certified Fraud Examiner and a Certified Chief Security Officer, which underscores his competencies in detecting and preventing fraud, as well as his skills in overall security management. Furthermore, he has led global initiatives focusing on various regulations, including ISO 2700, GDPR, CCPA, and NDAA.
His current advisory roles also contribute to his influence in the industry. John has served on advisory boards for companies like Coverbase, Bugbounter, and Cyberhaven, offering strategic insights that assist emerging technologies in overcoming security challenges. His previous roles as a CISO Advisor at the French Embassy in the U.S. and various board memberships further illustrate his deep commitment and profound impact on the field of security.
Achievements
- Education
- MBA from The Sloan School of Management at MIT
- Masters in Government from Harvard University
- Professional Certifications
- Certified Fraud Examiner
- Certified Chief Security Officer
- Military Service
- U.S. Marine Veteran
- Advisory Roles
- Board Advisor at 20 tech startups
- Formerly Advisory Board Member at multiple security firms such as Coverbase, Bugbounter, and Fusion Cyber.
- Thought Leadership
- Contributor to Forbes and Fast Company, sharing expertise on critical trends in cybersecurity and business resiliency.
Location
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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.
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.