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Rob Lorimer
Deep Tech Innovation
Professional Background
Rob Lorimer is an established leader in the Australian innovation ecosystem, boasting over 20 years of extensive experience in building, expanding, and rejuvenating research collaborations and partnerships across multiple sectors, including industry, government, and academia. His career reflects a commitment to fostering innovation through high-level engagement and a deep understanding of the intricate dynamics between research institutions and commercial enterprises.
Prior to his instrumental role in advancing Australia’s research collaboration landscape, Rob spent 12 years as a C-level executive in the private sector, demonstrating an exceptional ability to drive technological innovation on an international scale. His remarkable history includes positions such as the Executive Manager of Business Development at CSIRO, where he played a pivotal role in directing strategic initiatives and partnerships that have significantly advanced research capabilities in various fields.
Rob's vast experience spans numerous executive, governance, and advisory roles, showcasing his capacity to navigate the complex interplay between publicly funded research and commercialisation efforts. His noteworthy contributions have been recognised across a diverse array of sectors, including early-stage tech ventures and NASDAQ listed companies. He has also played significant roles in joint venture research collaborations and served on various government advisory bodies and not-for-profit technical associations, highlighting his breadth of expertise and dedication to the industry.
Renowned for his critical thinking and consensus-building skills, Rob approaches every challenge with a collaborative spirit and a touch of humor. His ability to engage various stakeholders has been instrumental in his career and has greatly benefited the initiatives he has been part of. As he enters a new chapter following his long service leave and official retirement from CSIRO on June 30, 2022, he remains open to consulting opportunities, Non-Executive Director roles, or advisory positions that capture his interest and align with his expert background.
Education and Achievements
Rob Lorimer's educational foundation has played a crucial role in shaping his professional journey and enhancing his capability as a leader in the innovation and technology sectors. His academic credentials include a Bachelor of Science from the University of Wales, Cardiff, where he built a solid base of technical knowledge. He further advanced his skills by completing a Graduate Certificate in Management at The University of Queensland, enriching his understanding of management principles.
In addition to this, Rob pursued executive education at the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) at the University of New South Wales, where he attained a Graduate Certificate in Executive Management and Development. This program provided him with advanced leadership skills, preparing him to take on senior roles in complex organisational settings.
Rob also graduated from the Company Directors Course (GAICD) at the Australian Institute of Company Directors. This qualification has equipped him with insights into effective governance, risk management, and strategic leadership, further solidifying his capability to sit at the helm of major initiatives.
Notable Contributions
Rob Lorimer has made significant contributions through various managerial positions, leading strategic initiatives that have driven innovation in a multitude of technical fields. At CSIRO, he held prominent roles as Business Director of both the Energy Group and the Wealth from Oceans Flagship, where he contributed to the advancement of sustainable energy solutions and the efficient utilisation of marine resources.
His role as Managing Director at Position One Consulting and as CEO at Beeline Technologies also highlights his exceptional ability to lead teams toward innovative solutions while overseeing operations and strategy at the executive level. Rob's influence was further expanded during his tenure at Trimble Navigation, serving as Managing Director for the Asia Pacific region, where he effectively managed operations across diverse geographical areas and shaped the company's growth trajectory within international markets.
With a career that reflects a profound understanding of technology’s potential to drive societal progress, Rob Lorimer exemplifies leadership and innovation in the research sector. As he pivots towards new opportunities post-retirement, his wealth of experience and expansive network positions him as a valuable asset in consulting, advisory, and board roles within the technology and innovation domains.
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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.
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.
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.