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Marc Puhl
Military Aviation Operations. Retail Multi-Unit, Director, and General Manager Professional.
Professional Background
Marc Puhl is a dynamic professional with extensive experience spanning multi-unit and individual store management, deeply rooted in market and district operations. With recognizable expertise in sales growth, marketing, and human resources functions, Marc has consistently contributed to the compliance of various regulatory standards, including DOT, ATF, and the Department of Labor. His career is characterized by a strong motivation to serve employees and create an environment ripe for diversity, engagement, and teamwork.
Notably, Puhl excels in areas of emergency and disaster management, showcasing his ability to navigate high-stakes environments effectively. His rich understanding of leadership training and managerial development is supported by his experiences as a subject matter expert in Diversity and Inclusion training, change leadership tactics, performance management, and Total Quality Management. Marc's leadership philosophy revolves around instilling core company values within the teams he builds, positioning them not only for success but also ensuring they deliver a legendary customer service experience.
Marc's background in the military as a classroom instructor has honed his dynamic public speaking and training skills, allowing him to engage and inspire teams effectively. His professional journey also includes providing strategic direction at the enterprise level, focused on corporate branding, retail merchandising, and product positioning. This blend of military and civilian retail experience positions Marc as a change agent committed to producing positive organizational change and driving sustained results.
Education and Achievements
Marc Puhl's educational background is impressive, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Disaster and Emergency Management from Crown College, where he graduated with a commendable GPA of 3.75. His education laid a solid foundation for his work in emergency management and further demonstrates his commitment to understanding multifaceted operational aspects.
Additionally, Marc has achieved his Meteorologist Journeyman License through his training in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force. His academic journey includes earning an Associate of Science in Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology from the Community College of the US Air Force, where he maintained a GPA of 3.50. This combination of education and practical experience in meteorology enables him to integrate scientific knowledge with operational needs effectively.
With over 30,000 hours of operational meteorology and climatology research under his belt, Marc not only provides invaluable insights into severe local storm research and weather forecasting but also applies this expertise to enhance decision-making processes in retail and emergency management contexts.
Organizations and Leadership Roles
Marc has held pivotal leadership positions at some of the most recognized commercial establishments, including serving as General Manager at Bass Pro Shops – Cabela's and as the Market Director for Stores at Lowe's Home Improvement. In these roles, he exercised strategic oversight and directed operations across multiple store locations, driving sales growth and ensuring high standards of customer service.
Prior to his executive role at Lowe's Home Improvement, Marc served as District Manager and Store Manager within the same organization, deepening his operational knowledge and exhibiting a clearly defined trajectory of career growth rooted in a commitment to excellence.
His previous role as Chief Meteorologist/Meteorologist in Charge at the United States Navy and Texas Army National Guard allowed him to align his meteorological expertise with military operations, thus contributing significantly to mission success and operational readiness. Furthermore, Marc’s involvement with the Harry Meyering Center, Inc. as a Board of Directors member showcases his dedication to community service and leadership beyond the confines of corporate settings.
Achievements
Marc's career has been marked by a series of notable achievements, underscoring his capabilities in leadership development, team building, and operational excellence. He is recognized for building high-performing teams that align with corporate culture and deliver outstanding customer experiences. His commitment to fostering a workplace atmosphere characterized by diversity, teamwork, and open communication is fundamental to achieving these results.
Puhl's role as a change champion has seen him utilize innovative approaches to drive positive transformations within organizations, enhancing performance management strategies, and creating employee development plans tailored specifically to the strengths and potential of individual team members. His commitment to effective communication and laden with practical examples, encourages an open-door policy that discerns and addresses employee concerns proactively.
In summary, Marc Puhl stands out as a servant leader with a robust track record in managing retail operations, coupled with extensive meteorological experience. His passion for nurturing corporate culture and empowering diverse teams, paired with a focus on operational efficiency and customer service excellence, positions him as a leader in his sector. Marc's story is not just one of achievement; it’s a narrative about influence, change, and unwavering dedication to the core tenets of effective leadership.
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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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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 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.