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Michael Picard
Principal / Architect at Okano Picard Studio
Professional Background
Michael Picard is a distinguished architect who has carved a niche for himself in the competitive architecture profession. Over the years, his work has taken him through various esteemed architectural firms, gathering extensive experience and knowledge along the way. Currently, he serves as the Principal and Architect at Okano Picard Studio, a position that showcases his leadership skills and innovative design approach. Under his guidance, the firm is known for its commitment to excellence in architectural design and a client-oriented approach.
Before establishing his current role, Michael was a vital part of the team at Olson Kundig, where he honed his skills in both residential and commercial architecture. His time spent in one of the industry’s leading firms allowed him to work on a variety of high-profile projects, combining cutting-edge design with sustainable practices.
Earlier in his career, Michael took on various responsibilities at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, where he served as an Architectural Designer. His role there included not only the creative aspects of design but also essential collaboration with clients and other stakeholders to bring visions to life. He further developed his expertise at Bassetti Architects, initially as an Architectural Designer and later as a Project Architect, where he was instrumental in leading multiple successful projects.
Michael Picard is known for his creativity, functionality in design, and unwavering dedication to the art of architecture. His passion is reflected in every project, ensuring that structures not only meet the needs of their occupants but also enhance the surrounding environment.
Education and Achievements
Michael completed his Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) degree from the prestigious University of Arizona. His academic training provided him with a solid foundation in architectural principles, design execution, and critical thinking. The University of Arizona is well-regarded for nurturing innovative architects, and Michael embraced this opportunity to deepen his knowledge and appreciation of architecture.
His educational background has played a significant role in shaping his career. The comprehensive curriculum taught him how to merge aesthetic charm with practicality, a skill set that is essential in today’s fast-paced architectural landscape. Alongside his formal education, Michael’s professional journey has offered him continuous learning experiences, leading to his impressive portfolio of work.
Achievements
Throughout his career, Michael Picard has achieved numerous milestones that underscore his status as a respected architect. His designs reflect a blend of creativity and functionality, aimed at enhancing the environments in which they exist. At Okano Picard Studio, Michael has received recognition for his innovative approaches to design, often integrating sustainability into his projects, which has become increasingly important in today’s architectural practices.
Michael's contributions to the architectural field can also be seen in the projects he has helped create at Olson Kundig. His influence on the design teams there has resulted in several awarded projects and positive client testimonials. Collaborating with some of the best minds in architecture has given him a distinctive edge and recognition in his field.
In addition to his project experience, Michael has also assumed mentorship roles for upcoming architects, guiding young talents as they navigate their professional pathways. His investment in fostering a new generation of designers speaks volumes about his passion for the profession and commitment to the architecture community.
Michael continues to push boundaries and explore innovative design solutions, making him a sought-after figure within architectural circles and a contributor to progressive architectural dialogues. His work not only highlights exceptional design capabilities but also reflects his understanding of community needs and sustainable practices, positioning him as a leader in contemporary architecture.
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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 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 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.
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