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Michael Hassel
Director Of Information Technology at Momofuku
Professional Background
Michael Hassel is a visionary and results-driven IT Director with over 20 years of comprehensive experience in the technology sector, known for driving transformational and profitable change across various organizations. Throughout his illustrious career, he has accumulated an impressive repertoire of skills and accomplishments that showcase his ability to enhance network performance, develop innovative strategies, and demonstrate exceptional business acumen. Michael is recognized for his capacity to articulate the complex vision and strategy that underpins IT initiatives, ensuring that objectives are seamlessly translated into actionable plans that yield tangible results.
Education and Achievements
Michael's academic journey commenced at Texas Tech University, where he laid the foundational knowledge that would propel his career in technology management. His education has equipped him with both the technical expertise and strategic thinking required to thrive in the fast-paced IT landscape. His professional trajectory includes high-impact roles at some of the most renowned organizations in the culinary and hospitality sectors, where he consistently leverages his knowledge to enhance operational efficiencies and foster innovation.
Professional Experience
Starting his career as a Management Information Systems (MIS) Manager at House of Blues, Michael quickly showcased his skills in managing technology solutions that optimize business operations. His subsequent role as a POS Manager at Hard Rock Cafe further solidified his reputation as a talented IT professional capable of marrying technical knowledge with business needs. Michael's proficiency in understanding both sides of the equation – technology and business – is a hallmark of his approach and continues to differentiate him in the IT field.
Following these positions, Michael served as a Senior Systems Analyst at Radiant Systems, where he played a pivotal role in analyzing business requirements and providing IT infrastructure solutions tailored to real-world needs. His journey continued as he moved into increasingly senior roles, culminating in his tenure as Director of Information Systems at Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group. Here, he not only managed IT resources but also contributed to strategic decision-making processes that helped shape the organization’s technology roadmap.
After establishing a strong foothold at Smith & Wollensky, Michael progressed to Director of Information Technology at China Grill Management, where he developed a reputation for transforming IT departments into centers of excellence through innovative strategies and robust leadership. His dedication to team development and collaborative working environments has earned him the respect of peers and superiors alike.
His next significant role was with STARR Restaurants, where he again took on the mantle of Director of Information Technology. In this capacity, he further honed his ability to lead multifunctional teams and drive technology initiatives that align with business goals. His exceptional communication and interpersonal skills allowed him to bridge gaps and foster a culture of collaboration within the organization.
Michael's journey saw a significant evolution when he transitioned to The ONE Group, initially serving as Director of Information Technology before advancing to the Senior Director role. In these positions, he played an instrumental role in steering the company's IT initiatives towards achieving greater efficiency, security, and profitability. His strategic foresight has enabled him to guide projects and teams through complex challenges, ensuring sustainable solutions that drive long-term success.
Currently, Michael holds the esteemed position of Director of Information Technology at Momofuku, where he continues to innovate and lead in the ever-evolving IT landscape. His track record of fostering effective communication and collaboration across various organizational levels can be attributed to his belief in creating inclusive environments that empower teams to excel.
Notable Achievements
Throughout his career, Michael has been a driving force in the successful implementation of IT infrastructures that have allowed organizations to scale and thrive in competitive environments. He possesses a unique ability to interpret IT visions and strategies, ensuring that the teams he leads understand their roles and contributions in delivering on those objectives.
His expertise in network performance management has been central to his success, enabling organizations to maximize the efficiency of their IT systems while minimizing downtime and operational disruptions. Michael's strategic development skills have resulted in numerous projects that have achieved not only immediate benefits but also long-lasting impact on the organizations he has served.
In summary, Michael Hassel is a highly accomplished IT Director whose extensive experience and defined expertise make him a valuable asset to any organization. His journey through the technology landscape, marked by significant roles and achievements, reflects his commitment to excellence, collaboration, and strategic 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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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.
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'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.