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Keith Urtel
Professional Background
Keith Urtel is a distinguished professional in the field of accounting and education, known for his extensive experience and unparalleled expertise in leadership and quality assurance within the business environment. Serving as the current Director at BDO USA, LLP, Urtel brings a wealth of knowledge and a proven track record of success in various roles throughout his career. His leadership capabilities are well recognized, particularly during his tenure as an Associate Teaching Professor and Faculty Academic Director for the Master of Accountancy program at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. Here, Urtel not only taught the principles of accounting but also inspired future leaders in the industry to embrace ethical and quality-driven practices.
Prior to his impactful role at the University of Notre Dame, Keith Urtel held several significant positions that have shaped his professional journey. He served as Principal in Charge of Quality and Risk Management at MBAF, where he was instrumental in enhancing the company's operational efficiencies and risk management practices. His arms-length experience as Managing Partner at EY (Ernst & Young) and Partner at Mengel, Metzger, Barr & Co. LLP, reflects a deep commitment to nurturing talent and delivering exceptional service to clients. Keith's prolific career includes climbing through the ranks at EY, where he initially joined as a Senior Manager and eventually made significant contributions as a Partner, showcasing his ability to excel and lead at various levels.
Education and Achievements
Urtel's academic journey is marked by an impressive educational background that builds upon his professional acumen. He completed a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the prestigious Rochester Institute of Technology, which laid the groundwork for his successful career in accounting. Furthering his education, Urtel honed his leadership skills at the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, a highly regarded institution known for developing innovative leaders and thinkers. His commitment to lifelong learning reflects a strong dedication to personal and professional growth, making him a role model for aspiring accountants and business leaders alike.
In addition to his formal education, Keith Urtel has been actively engaged in various organizations and leadership initiatives, contributing to the advancement of the accounting profession. His leadership philosophy emphasizes collaboration, integrity, and excellence, which he instills in his students and colleagues alike. Urtel's various roles in academia and the corporate world illustrate his capability to manage, inspire, and lead teams toward achieving their objectives while prioritizing quality and ethics in every endeavor.
Achievements
Throughout his career, Keith Urtel has amassed several notable achievements that underscore his influence within the accounting and education sectors. His strategic insights and hands-on approach have not only elevated the organizations he has worked with but also enriched the educational experiences of countless students. His role at BDO USA, LLP, where he is currently a Director, marks another milestone in his career, allowing him to implement innovative strategies that drive growth and efficacy in auditing and consulting services.
Furthermore, Urtel's tenure at the University of Notre Dame has been particularly formative, having a lasting impact on the lives of students who will go on to become leaders in finance and accounting. By bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application, he has prepared his students to meet the challenges of the modern financial landscape. Urtel’s focus on quality assurance and risk management has also positioned him as a trusted advisor within the industry, where his insights are sought after and valued by peers and professionals alike.
Keith Urtel's achievements are further amplified by his reputation as a mentor and thought leader in the fields of accounting and business leadership. His commitment to excellence and the development of future leaders is evident in his professional practice, where he emphasizes ethical standards, innovative practices, and a commitment to quality that resonates throughout his career.
In summary, Keith Urtel is a highly respected figure in the realms of accounting and education, whose professional trajectory is marked by continuous growth and a deep commitment to fostering excellence in others. Through a blend of rigorous education, extensive experience, and passionate leadership, Urtel continues to be a transformative force in the world of accounting, inspiring both his students and his colleagues, and ensuring that high standards are maintained across the industry.
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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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- 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.
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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'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.