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Mark Cruikshank
Chief Financial Officer - Americas at Macquarie Group
Professional Background
Mark Cruikshank is a distinguished financial executive currently serving as the Chief Financial Officer for Macquarie Group in the Americas. With profound expertise in finance, accounting, and strategic business management, Mark plays a pivotal role in steering one of the most dynamic financial groups in the region, which operates extensively across diverse sectors including asset management, energy production—covering both renewable and conventional sources—agriculture, credit and debt capital markets, as well as principal finance and investment advisory services. His tenure at Macquarie Group has been marked by significant achievements and contributions that enhanced the organization’s operational efficiency and profitability.
Before taking on the role of CFO, Mark held several senior positions at Macquarie Group, including Senior Managing Director and Managing Director. His progressive career trajectory within the company reflects his strategic vision, financial acumen, and commitment to excellence. In these roles, he deftly navigated complex financial landscapes and contributed to substantial growth through innovative financial strategies and a deep understanding of market dynamics.
Mark’s expertise is underpinned by his solid educational foundation, which includes a Bachelor of Commerce with a dual focus on Accounting and Finance from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), and a Master of Laws from the prestigious University of Sydney. This diverse academic background provides him with a unique perspective on integrating legal considerations into financial and business decisions, making him an invaluable asset to the organizations he leads.
Education and Achievements
Mark Cruikshank’s educational journey laid the groundwork for his successful career in the financial sector. He began his studies at the University of New South Wales where he earned a Bachelor of Commerce, along with Bachelors in Accounting and Finance. His comprehensive understanding of these core subjects has been vital in his roles, where analytical skills are crucial for effective decision-making and financial oversight.
Furthering his education, Mark pursued a Master of Laws at the University of Sydney. This advanced degree not only broadened his knowledge but also enhanced his ability to navigate the intricate regulations and legal frameworks that govern the financial industry. This unique combination of commerce and law equips him to tackle complex financial issues and contribute to corporate strategy thoughtfully and responsibly.
Throughout his career, Mark has been recognized for his insightful leadership and strategic planning capabilities, characteristics that are instrumental in successfully managing and expanding financial operations. His progressive rise through the ranks within Macquarie Group showcases his unwavering dedication and results-driven mindset, leading to a reputation as a trailblazer in the financial services sector.
Achievements
Mark Cruikshank's achievements are a testament to his exceptional capabilities and commitment to excellence in the financial realm. As the Chief Financial Officer at Macquarie Group in the Americas, he oversees one of the largest and profitable operations, ensuring that the company's interests are well represented and strategically aligned with evolving market conditions. His role requires not only financial precision but also the ability to forecast and adapt strategies in response to an ever-changing economic environment.
Prior to his current position, Mark excelled in various leadership roles within Macquarie Group, including Senior Managing Director and Managing Director, where he successfully implemented initiatives that significantly increased operational efficiencies and revenue streams. His leadership has directly contributed to Macquarie Group's strong reputation as a leader in asset management and investment advisory services. His experiences extend beyond corporate finance, as he previously held critical positions such as Manager Taxation at ING Direct Australia and Manager at PwC Australia, enriching his understanding of the financial landscape from both a corporate and regulatory perspective.
Mark's forward-thinking approach and deep expertise have also positioned him as a thought leader in the financial services sector, where he regularly engages with industry peers, sharing insights and strategies that drive innovation and performance. His commitment to professional development and continuous learning has been an integral part of his success and inspires those around him in their career journeys.
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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:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
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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.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Clay is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Clay as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Clay offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
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 makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Clay's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
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 is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
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.