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Tom Singer
Portfolio Non Executive Director working with private and public companies predominantly in consumer facing businesses.
Professional Background
Tom Singer is an accomplished senior business leader boasting over 20 years of comprehensive experience in both private and public sectors, with a strong focus on international branded consumer businesses. His diverse career is characterized by a commitment to cultivating a plural career and pursuing opportunities as a portfolio Chair and Non-Executive Director (NED) across dynamic sectors such as hospitality, travel, retail, healthcare, and businesses that are navigating significant transformation and growth. Tom's wealth of expertise is shaped by firsthand experience collaborating with private equity and venture capital investors, allowing him to effectively deliver substantial value creation and successful exits through Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) or trade sales.
Tom is known for his capacity to deliver innovative strategic advice that drives sustainable profitability and growth for established players and disruptive new entrants alike. His ability to build and foster enduring strategic relationships with both internal and external stakeholders is a testament to his effective leadership style. Tom’s extensive skill set encompasses strategic leadership, finance, corporate governance, operations, risk management, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and investor relations, making him a versatile asset in any high-stakes business environment.
Education and Achievements
Tom Singer’s educational background lays a solid foundation for his success. He studied as an Associate Chartered Accountant at the prestigious Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales, where he honed his financial acumen. Furthering his expertise, he completed the Advanced Management Programme at INSEAD, an internationally recognized institution known for cultivating influential business leaders. Tom holds a degree in Economics & Accounting from the University of Bristol, grounding him in the principles of finance and economic theory that inform his strategic decision-making.
In addition to his academic achievements, Tom has served in a variety of high-level roles at prominent organizations, demonstrating his capability and adaptability in various industries. His board-level experience includes serving as a Non-Executive Director at Halfords Group PLC, where he contributed to the strategic direction and governance of the company. His previous roles also include serving as Non-Executive Director at Mediclinic International PLC, Liberty Living, and DP Eurasia N.V.
Notable Careers and Leadership Roles
Tom's professional journey includes significant positions of leadership that reflect his expertise in finance and operations. As Chief Financial Officer at onefinestay, Tom played a critical role in the company's growth and financial strategy, supporting its position in the competitive hospitality sector. Prior to this, he served as Chief Financial Officer at InterContinental Hotels Group, a globally recognized leader in the hotel industry, further demonstrating his proficiency in managing complex financial operations at scale.
Tom's experience as Group Finance Director at BUPA showcases his ability to lead financial management in the healthcare sector, ensuring that strategic objectives align with financial sustainability. His role as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at William Hill PLC emphasizes his dual expertise in operations and finance, reflecting his well-rounded leadership style and understanding of the dynamics within high-pressure environments.
Additionally, Tom has a rich history at Moss Bros Group PLC, where he functioned as Group Finance Director, bringing operational insights and financial rigor to the retail sector. His foundational experiences began at notable institutions, including his time as a Strategy Consultant at McKinsey & Co. and as an Audit Manager at Price Waterhouse, setting the stage for his evolution into a senior business leader.
Community Engagement and Leadership Philosophy
Hailing from a robust background steeped in corporate governance and strategic leadership, Tom Singer understands the importance of community engagement and the role of strategic leadership in fostering successful enterprises. His philosophy centers on the belief that stability and growth are best achieved through transparent communication, a collaborative approach, and a focus on innovation. By aligning organizational goals with stakeholder interests and leveraging his robust analytical skills, Tom is dedicated to navigating businesses through transformation and fostering environments where sustainable success thrives.
Future Endeavors
Moving forward, Tom seeks to continue his journey as a thought leader in the realms of hospitality, travel, retail, healthcare, and service industries. His dedication to creating value and focusing on transformative growth opportunities positions him as a sought-after advisor and director. Seeking out engaging portfolio opportunities, he is enthusiastic about guiding organizations through changes that enhance both their operational and financial performance. As industries continue to evolve, Tom is committed to contributing his expertise to organizations that aspire to lead and innovate in their respective fields.
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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 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.
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