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Kathleen Grillo
Verizon SVP, Public Policy and Government Affairs
Professional Background
Kathleen (Kathy) Grillo is a distinguished leader in the telecommunications industry, currently serving as the Senior Vice President of Public Policy and Government Affairs at Verizon. Her extensive career at Verizon began in 2002, and since that time, she has played a vital role in shaping the company's public policy strategy at local, state, and federal levels. In her current position, Kathy leads Verizon's global public policy, legislative initiatives, and regulatory efforts across a broad spectrum of issues related to technology and telecommunications. She is instrumental in addressing pressing matters such as the deployment of 5G technology, internet governance, national security, public safety, spectrum management, and privacy. With her wealth of experience, Kathy ensures that Verizon maintains a strong and responsible stance in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.
Kathy's responsibilities extend beyond policy-making to include forging meaningful relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders. She represents Verizon before key governmental bodies including Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and various state governments. Her role necessitates a keen understanding of the telecommunications sector as well as the ability to collaborate effectively with third-party groups, non-governmental organizations, consumer rights advocates, civil rights organizations, and trade associations. Under her leadership, Verizon works diligently to cultivate trust and foster collaboration with stakeholders, thereby enhancing the company's standing and ensuring favorable outcomes for customers, employees, shareholders, and the broader community.
Additionally, Kathy is recognized for her exceptional commitment to diversity and inclusion within the tech sector. She is deeply passionate about creating environments that empower individuals to think creatively and contribute to their fullest potential. As a champion for women in technology, she has pioneered numerous initiatives to support and develop young women leaders, ensuring that the next generation has the tools and mentorship they need for success in their careers. One notable achievement is her partnership with Ellevate Network, established in 2019, to launch a leadership and mentoring series focused specifically on "Women in Tech and Telecom."
Beyond her corporate achievements, Kathy is recognized as a thought leader and is frequently invited to speak at various leadership and diversity events. Her influence extends throughout the industry, as she hosts numerous programs aimed at leadership development and professional growth within Verizon.
Education and Achievements
Kathy Grillo's academic foundation is also commendable. She earned her Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in English Language and Literature from the prestigious University of Virginia, a notable institution that has produced many influential leaders in various fields. Following her undergraduate studies, she pursued her law degree at the University of Virginia School of Law, where she obtained her Juris Doctor (J.D.). Kathy's educational background equipped her with a robust understanding of both legal and communication disciplines, which have proven essential in her roles within the legal and regulatory frameworks of the telecommunications industry.
Before her tenure with Verizon, Kathy refined her legal acumen in private practice. She was an Associate at the renowned law firms Ropes & Gray and Williams & Connolly LLP, where she gained valuable experience that laid the groundwork for her capabilities in public policy and government affairs. Furthermore, she honed her litigation skills as a law clerk for Judge Harold H. Greene of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, experiencing first-hand the intersection of law, policy, and governance.
Leadership and Impact
Kathy Grillo’s leadership style is defined by her commitment to inclusivity, innovation, and empowerment. She firmly believes in fostering a work culture where every team member feels valued and capable of contributing unique perspectives. As a trailblazer advocating for women's advancement in the tech and telecom sectors, Kathy has initiated several development summits aimed at bridging the gender gap and encouraging broader participation in leadership roles.
Her influential role as the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of USTelecom – The Broadband Association further underscores her dedication to advancing telecommunications policy at the national level. In this position, Kathy actively participates in discussions that shape the future of broadband access and policy initiatives that reflect the evolving needs of society and the telecommunications industry.
As a respected voice in her field, she emphasizes the importance of connectivity and its role in enhancing public safety, individual privacy, and national security. Her strategic insights and thought leadership not only influence Verizon’s direction but also contribute to broader dialogues within the telecommunications community and among policy-makers.
In conclusion, Kathleen (Kathy) Grillo represents a harmonious blend of legal expertise, public policy acumen, and a commitment to diversity and inclusion within the tech and telecommunications industries. Her significant contributions at Verizon and in various organizations reflect her dedication to fostering positive relationships and driving meaningful change, enhancing both corporate objectives and societal outcomes. As she continues to lead and advocate for effective public policy, Kathy remains a pivotal figure in shaping the landscape of telecommunications both in the United States and globally.
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Clay is a relationship management platform that serves as a personal CRM, helping you organize and deepen both personal and professional relationships. It functions as a beautiful rolodex and CRM available on iPhone, Mac, Windows, and web, built automatically to help manage your network efficiently. Unlike traditional address books, Clay centralizes all your contacts in one place while enriching them with additional context and features to help you stay thoughtful and connected.
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:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
- Network Strength: Visualizes the strength of your relationships relative to others in your network
- Timeline: Shows your relationship history with each contact
- Smart Search: Allows you to search using natural language like "People I know at the NYT" or "Designers I've met in London"
- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
- Home Feed: Displays updates about your network including job changes, news mentions, and birthdays
- Groups: Organizes contacts into meaningful categories
- 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.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Clay is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Clay as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Clay offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
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.
Nexus is Clay's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
Clay makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Clay's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
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.
Clay isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Clay instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Clay is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Clay can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
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.