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Maria Leftakis
Chair at Morrow Sodali
Professional Background
Maria Leftakis is a highly accomplished and influential leader in the corporate governance and proxy solicitation arena. With a career spanning over two decades, she has held various prominent positions that exemplify her commitment to excellence in stakeholder communication, corporate governance, and shareholder engagement. Currently, Maria serves as the Chair at Morrow Sodali, where she continues to inspire teams and drive strategic initiatives that align with best practices in corporate governance.
Before taking on the role of Chair, Maria made significant contributions as the CEO for Morrow Sodali Australia, where she was instrumental in expanding the organization's presence and enhancing its services in the region. Her tenure at Morrow Sodali is marked by her visionary leadership and strategic foresight, which have set the foundations for enduring client relationships and successful shareholder engagement strategies.
Maria's expertise in the proxy solicitation space is rooted in her entrepreneurial spirit. She is the founder and former Managing Director of Global Proxy Solicitation Pty Ltd, a firm dedicated to providing top-notch advisory services in proxy solicitation and shareholder outreach. Her entrepreneurial journey in this field began with her role as Managing Director of Georgeson Australia (AsiaPac), a recognized global consultancy in the world of corporate governance and shareholder management. At Georgeson, she upheld high standards of service delivery and cemented her reputation as a trusted advisor to companies navigating complex shareholder dynamics.
Throughout her career, Maria's astute understanding of the nuances involved in shareholder communications has cemented her position as a thought leader. Prior to her successful stint at Georgeson, she also held the position of Managing Director, AsiaPac at Georgeson Shareholder Communications, where she broadened her knowledge about global practices, trends, and needs in corporate governance.
In addition to her work at Morrow Sodali and Georgeson, Maria is the founder and former Managing Director at Liberty Response, a significant venture that further showcases her innovative approach to stakeholder relations and engagement strategies.
Education and Achievements
Maria Leftakis boasts a rigorous educational background that equips her with the knowledge and skills necessary for her influential roles. She pursued an Executive MBA (EMBA) at the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM), where she honed her leadership capabilities and strategic thinking skills. The AGSM program is known for nurturing business leaders who strive for excellence in their respective fields, and Maria's time there has undeniably contributed to her success in corporate governance.
Prior to her EMBA, Maria earned a Bachelor of Economics degree from the prestigious University of Sydney, one of Australia's leading institutions. This foundational economics education has provided her with a solid understanding of financial infrastructures, market dynamics, and business operations, all of which are critical in her current roles.
Maria's educational achievements complement her extensive professional experience, positioning her as a formidable figure within the corporate landscape of Australia.
Achievements
Throughout her distinguished career, Maria Leftakis has garnered numerous accolades and recognition that highlight her steadfast commitment to the field of corporate governance. Her innovative work and exceptional leadership abilities have paved the way for successful initiatives aimed at enhancing corporate governance practices.
As a leader in proxy solicitation and corporate governance, Maria has played a pivotal role in shaping industry standards and advancing best practices. Her contributions have not only benefited the organizations she has worked for but also have established her as a respected voice among her peers in the industry. Maria’s achievements stand as a testament to her dedication and passion for fostering transparency and effectiveness in corporate governance.
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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.
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.
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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.