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Maria Thompson
Founder & Strategic Advisor at Agile Sourcing Partners, Inc. President of Inspiria LLC Consulting Services
Professional Background
Maria Thompson is a dynamic leader with a robust career in supply chain management and procurement. She is the founder, Chairman, and CEO of Agile Sourcing Partners, an integrated supply and contract management company that she established in 2006. Under her direction, Agile Sourcing Partners has flourished, becoming a reputable player in the sourcing industry, known for its innovative approaches and comprehensive solutions tailored for its clients.
Before embarking on her entrepreneurial journey, Maria honed her skills at Sempra Energy utilities, where she served as the Project Management Coordinator. In this pivotal role, she was instrumental in spearheading several strategic sourcing initiatives that bolstered the efficiency and effectiveness of the supply chain operations. Furthermore, she set the groundwork for the Supply Chain Management department by developing training programs and establishing key performance indicators that continue to guide the team’s efforts today.
Maria's experience spans across various sectors. Notably, she worked at Qualcomm, where she excelled in the Supplier Management Program, and also gained international expertise managing inventory, sales, and purchasing at a maquiladora in Mexico. Her multifaceted experience in supply chain and contract management has positioned her as a thought leader in the field.
Education and Achievements
Maria Thompson's educational background is extensive and impressive. She holds an International MBA from the University of San Diego, which equipped her with a global perspective on business operations. Her undergraduate degree is in Spanish from the University of California, Santa Barbara, which reflects her commitment to not only understanding but also bridging cultural differences in the business world. In addition to her formal degrees, Maria has pursued several professional development courses, including a Professional Certificate in Organizational Leadership from both UCLA Anderson School of Management and USC Marshall School of Business. Additionally, she explored topics in Business Administration, Management, and Operations at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.
Throughout her career, she has achieved numerous recognitions in the areas of supply chain and procurement. As a Certified Purchasing Manager with the Institute of Supply Management, she demonstrates her commitment to maintaining high standards in purchasing and sourcing practices.
Leadership and Community Engagement
Maria Thompson is not only a committed professional but also a passionate advocate for mentorship and diversity in the business community. She is actively involved in various leadership roles on several boards, including professional associations and educational institutions. Her efforts underline her dedication to fostering the next generation of leaders in the supply chain industry.
Maria takes pride in her mentorship activities, frequently participating in workshops aimed at the technical development of diverse businesses. Her commitment to building a supportive network that empowers diverse suppliers sets a benchmark in the industry and highlights her belief in inclusive growth. By sharing her knowledge and expertise, she actively contributes to creating opportunities for underrepresented groups in the business sector.
Through her leadership at Agile Sourcing Partners and her community initiatives, Maria Thompson exemplifies the intersection of professional excellence and social responsibility. Her journey reflects her proactive approach to business and her steadfast commitment to empowerment, development, and innovation.
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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 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.
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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.
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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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