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Kees Buckens
Simulation Training and Industry Engagement Manager at New Zealand Maritime School / Manukau Institute of Technology
Professional Background
Kees Buckens is a distinguished professional with extensive experience in maritime studies and business administration. His career reflects a dedicated commitment to maritime education and training, having held numerous significant positions that highlight his leadership and expertise in the field. Kees commenced his professional journey by serving as the Simulator Training and Industry Engagement Manager at the New Zealand Maritime School, where he honed his skills and developed training programs that bridged the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application.
Following his impactful tenure at the New Zealand Maritime School, Kees transitioned to the role of Coordinator of Foreign Going Programmes, further enhancing his skills in program management and curriculum design. His work in this capacity laid the groundwork for his later achievements, including his role as Director at Maritime Research and Compliance, where he was instrumental in developing compliance standards and conducting maritime research that benefited myriad stakeholders in the industry.
Currently, Kees serves as the Simulator Manager at Seaways Consultants Ltd, a position that exemplifies his adeptness in leading simulation training initiatives. His responsibilities encompass overseeing simulation-based training programs that enrich the professional development of seafarers and enhance maritime safety practices.
Kees has had a remarkable journey as a Master at Holland America Line, where he managed large vessels and ensured the safety and satisfaction of passengers. His hands-on experience as a mariner complements his academic achievements and enhances his insights into the intricacies of maritime operations.
Education and Achievements
Kees Buckens has a strong educational foundation with degrees from renowned institutions. He studied Maritime Studies at the Hogere Zeevaart School in Vlissingen, Netherlands, where he garnered essential maritime knowledge and skills that shaped his career path. Following that, Kees pursued a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Massey University, equipping him with strategic thinking and business acumen crucial for leadership roles in maritime organizations.
His dual expertise in maritime studies and business administration positions him uniquely within the industry, enabling him to understand both the technical and commercial aspects of maritime operations. Kees’s academic credentials support his innovative approaches to training and research within the maritime sector.
Notable Achievements
Throughout his career, Kees Buckens has achieved significant milestones that reflect his expertise in maritime training and operations. His transition from seafaring to maritime education showcases a versatile career trajectory that many aspire to replicate. As a Director at Maritime Research and Compliance, he played a pivotal role in enhancing the industry's standards and practices, contributing to improved safety and efficiency in maritime operations.
Furthermore, Kees’s leadership in developing simulation training programs has been recognized and praised within the maritime community. The integration of modern simulation technology into training has allowed for a more comprehensive learning experience, bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical skills essential for success at sea. His efforts have positioned the institutions he has worked with at the forefront of maritime education.
Kees is not only a leader in maritime training but also an advocate for research-driven compliance that improves overall maritime safety and operational standards. His contributions have had a lasting impact on the maritime training landscape, ensuring that the next generation of seafarers is equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to navigate the complexities of modern maritime operations.
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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.
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.
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.