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Ben Hart
Amplifying positive impact through powerful storytelling.
Professional Background
Ben Hart is a distinguished and accomplished professional with over 20 years of extensive experience across media, communications, and political advising. His dynamic career is characterized by an unwavering commitment to transforming organizational storytelling, emphasizing the importance of engaging narratives that resonate emotionally with audiences. He believes that moving beyond conventional corporate messaging can significantly enhance connections and foster more meaningful engagements.
In his illustrious career, Ben has held prominent roles that showcase his exceptional capabilities in strategic communication. Notably, he has led communications functions at national organizations, including headspace, dedicated to youth mental health and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). His visionary leadership at ARENA was particularly marked by the creation of ARENA WIRE, a groundbreaking news platform focused on renewable energy technology. This initiative aimed to educate and inform the public about the advances in renewable energy solutions. Additionally, he pioneered ReWired, a podcast series spotlighting the human stories that underline Australia’s renewable energy revolution, which further cements his role as a storyteller with a purpose.
Ben’s career trajectory also includes advising leaders across all tiers of government, demonstrating his versatility and deep understanding of public affairs. Notably, he served as Chief of Staff to Sally Capp, the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, where he played a critical role in managing communications and strategic initiatives within the city’s administration. His impressive media presence includes contributions to notable publications such as The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, Guardian Australia, ABC Life, and Broadsheet, showcasing his talent for weaving compelling narratives across various platforms.
Education and Achievements
Ben Hart holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from RMIT University, equipping him with the analytical skills and proficiency in communication essential for success in his diverse career. Before this, he developed a foundation for his education at Highview Christian Community College, which likely played a pivotal role in shaping his values and aspirations toward impactful storytelling and community engagement.
Throughout his career, Ben has achieved several notable milestones that reflect his expertise and dedication. His work as Publisher at The Story underscored his commitment to enhancing storytelling initiatives across various sectors, while his position on the board of Gertrude Contemporary enriched his insights into the intersection of art and communication. His notable positions, from Senior Media Advisor in the Victorian Government to his role as General Manager of the Strategic Communication branch at ARENA, display a versatile skill set and a seamless transition between the realms of government and media.
Key Roles and Contributions
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Fireside - Founder and Managing Director: Ben founded Fireside, a consultancy that specializes in creating impactful communication strategies, demonstrating his entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to improving organizational storytelling.
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The Story - Formerly Publisher: He played a crucial role in shaping narratives that resonate with audiences and elevate organizational communication.
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Gertrude Contemporary - Former Board Member: His involvement emphasizes his dedication to supporting the arts and creative community.
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City of Melbourne - Former Chief of Staff to Sally Capp: As Chief of Staff, he effectively advised and supported the Lord Mayor in her initiatives, reinforcing his skills in handling high-stakes political environments.
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ARENA - General Manager of Strategic Communication: At ARENA, Ben took charge of disseminating information pertinent to Australia’s renewable energy initiatives, enhancing public understanding and interest in this critical area. His contributions as a communications consultant, speechwriter, and head of the agency's media functions underscore his adeptness in delivering vital messages to diverse audiences.
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Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) - Producer and Communications Consultant: His work at ABC, where he produced segments for programs like RN Drive and contributed to ABC 774, demonstrates his deep rootedness in media production and broadcasting, enhancing his storytelling abilities.
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headspace - Manager of Public Relations: Ben's role in youth mental health communication stressed the importance of relevance and empathy in tackling sensitive social issues.
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AFL Players' Association - Public Affairs Manager: His experience in sports communication highlights his versatility and ability to adapt his storytelling techniques across various sectors.
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Victorian Government - Chief of Staff to the Minister: His role as Chief of Staff f
Highlights
How can councils play a leading role in strengthening the civic discourse, as a way of reversing worrying trends toward increased disinformation in the community?
And as well as focusing on mitigating its negative impacts, should councils also see the growing prevalence of disinformation as a 'useful signal' that they need to do better in the way they engage with constituents?
These are just a couple of the questions that will be explored when I moderate a high-powered panel of disinformation experts at the upcoming Municipal Association of Victoria Annual Conference on September 12.
On the panel will be:
📢 Andrew Jaspan AM - Professor Monash University 👨💻 Matteo Bonotti - Associate Professor Monash University 📳 Ika Trijsburg - Research Fellow, City of Diplomacy University of Melbourne, Melbourne Centre for Cities 📷 Mario Peucker - Associate Professor Industries and Liveable Cities - Victoria University
It's just one of many great sessions being put on by MAV during the day. If you work in local government and want to be a part of this fantastic program, visit https://lnkd.in/gn5jYEkx to register.
From the Voice Referendum to climate change communications, progressive forces seem to be losing the battle to shift hearts and minds - and at a time when the stakes couldn't be higher.
This is a view shared by PR veteran David Fenton, who articulates much better than I the urgent need for the Left to enter the storytelling arena in this piece we have just published in The Story, written by one of our favourite contributors, Luke Ryan.
“This is a massive propaganda war,” he says. “But only one side is on the battlefield. Our community doesn’t make a priority of public communication, and that means we don’t fight back. But we need to fight or we will lose.”
It's a stirring call to arms for anyone trying to advance progressive causes. Please check out if you have a few minutes to spare.
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Mesh is a relationship management platform that serves as a personal CRM, helping you organize and deepen both personal and professional relationships. It functions as a beautiful rolodex and CRM available on iPhone, Mac, Windows, and web, built automatically to help manage your network efficiently. Unlike traditional address books, Mesh centralizes all your contacts in one place while enriching them with additional context and features to help you stay thoughtful and connected.
Mesh 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.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
- Network Strength: Visualizes the strength of your relationships relative to others in your network
- Timeline: Shows your relationship history with each contact
- Smart Search: Allows you to search using natural language like "People I know at the NYT" or "Designers I've met in London"
- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
- Home Feed: Displays updates about your network including job changes, news mentions, and birthdays
- Groups: Organizes contacts into meaningful categories
- 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
Mesh 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, Mesh 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 Mesh 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 Mesh 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.
Mesh 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. Mesh encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Mesh work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Mesh is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Mesh is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Mesh 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.
Mesh 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. Mesh offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Mesh for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Mesh accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Mesh offers extensive integration capabilities. Mesh introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Mesh 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. Mesh also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
Nexus is Mesh's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
Mesh makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Mesh's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Mesh 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. Mesh 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, Mesh 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.
Mesh 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.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh 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. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh 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 Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh 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, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh 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. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh 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.
Mesh isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Mesh instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Mesh is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Mesh can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Mesh is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh 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.
Mesh'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. Mesh 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 Mesh a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Mesh's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Mesh'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, Mesh has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Mesh's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Mesh 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 Mesh eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.