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Mats Kirknes
Cartographer, geographer, economist, consultant, mentor, trainer
Professional Background
Mats Kirknes is an accomplished professional with a diverse background that spans across economics, geography, and various leadership roles within both non-profit organizations and private sectors. With a deep-seated passion for integrating environmental preservation with socio-economic development, Mats has cultivated a career that reflects both a commitment to sustainability and effective management. He has made significant contributions to the operations of numerous organizations, showcasing his expertise in NGO management, event planning, administration, and organizational development. His broad set of interests is complemented by a dedication to utilizing new technology to enhance operational efficiencies and advocate for positive change.
Mats has held pivotal roles in several organizations including his position as Topic Responsible at Blom Norway AS, where he utilized his economics and geography knowledge to spearhead projects aimed at environmental mapping and analysis. His leadership capabilities were also evident during his tenure as the Chairman of Colorblind Yarns, where he fostered innovative approaches to community engagement and support for marginalized groups.
From managing finances to overseeing project execution, Mats has excelled in various administrative functions. His previous roles as Training Institute Director at JCI Norway and as a Project Engineer at TerraTec AS allowed him to leverage his technical acumen while imparting valuable knowledge to aspiring professionals. His rich volunteer experience, which includes positions at organizations like Skeiv Ungdom and the Norwegian Consumer Council, exemplifies his commitment to social issues and advocacy.
Education and Achievements
Mats Kirknes began his academic journey at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), where he pursued dual Bachelor degrees in Social Geography and Economics and Administration. This educational foundation equipped him with the analytical skills necessary for understanding complex socio-economic systems and their interplay with environmental factors.
A highlight of his early academic career was his participation in various student organizations, where he held key positions such as Head of Economy and Finance at ISFiT, the International Student Festival in Trondheim. This experience not only honed his financial management skills but also instilled a strong sense of community and international collaboration among peers.
His high school diploma from Orkanger Vidaregåande Skole set the stage for his future academic pursuits, laying the groundwork for his expertise in economics and administration.
Throughout his professional career, Mats has amassed numerous notable achievements. His roles as an internal auditor, project manager, and finance lead have contributed to enhanced operational transparency and efficiency within the organizations he has been a part of. He has consistently demonstrated an ability to bridge gaps between diverse teams, facilitating collaboration to drive impactful outcomes.
Key Achievements
- Significant contributions as Topic Responsible at Blom Norway AS, focusing on environmental mapping and sustainable practices.
- Leadership as Chairman at Colorblind Yarns, advocating for inclusivity and support for marginalized groups.
- Effective management in various roles at JCI Norway, including Training Institute Director and EVP Administration, fostering growth and development in young leaders.
- A wealth of volunteer experience with organizations that support LGBT rights and advocate against discrimination, showcasing his commitment to social issues.
- Prior military service with NATO, which provided a unique perspective on teamwork, leadership, and international cooperation.
In conclusion, Mats Kirknes blends his academic acumen in economics and geography with extensive professional experience, particularly in the management of NGOs, to work towards a balance of environmental sustainability and socio-economic development. His passion for innovative solutions and leadership in diverse organizations underscores his commitment to impactful change and community engagement.
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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.
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.