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Kathryn Caggiano
Professor of Practice and Associate Director, School of Operations Research and Information Engineering
Professional Background
Dr. Kathryn Caggiano is an accomplished educator and industry expert who has dedicated over 20 years to preparing engineering and business students for success in the professional world. With a strong foundation in engineering education and a robust career in technology and supply chain consulting, she leverages her extensive experience in the classroom to create practical, real-world learning environments for her students. Dr. Caggiano's emphasis on developing and implementing actionable business models equips her students with the skills necessary to communicate solutions effectively, thus preparing them for the challenges they will face in their careers.
In her current role, she serves as a Professor of Practice and Associate Director at the School of Operations Research and Industrial Engineering (OR&IE) at Cornell University. Previously, she was a Senior Lecturer and the Director of the ORIE Master of Engineering Program, where she significantly contributed to the program's reputation. Under her leadership, the ORIE Master of Engineering program has garnered multiple accolades, being named a Finalist for the UPS George D. Smith Prize in both 2018 and 2012, and a Semifinalist in 2013. This prestigious award, presented by INFORMS, recognizes outstanding contributions towards the practical preparation of operations research students.
Dr. Caggiano's leadership and dedication extend beyond the classroom. Her commitment to graduate-level education is evident in her service on the Arts & Sciences Graduate Studies Advisory Board at William & Mary, where she currently holds the position of President. She has also held several leadership roles, including Vice President and Chair of the student professional development committee, demonstrating her deep involvement in academic governance and student success initiatives. Furthermore, her past involvement with the Cornell Engineering Alumni Association Board of Directors showcases her ongoing commitment to fostering connections and support among Cornell alumni.
Education and Achievements
Dr. Caggiano's educational background is rooted in a strong quantitative and analytical focus. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from William & Mary, where she developed a solid foundation that propelled her into the fields of operations research and engineering. Following her undergraduate education, she pursued a Master of Science and PhD in Operations Research at Cornell University, further deepening her knowledge and research capabilities in this critical area of study.
Throughout her career, Dr. Caggiano has won numerous teaching awards, which highlight her exceptional abilities as an educator. Her approach to teaching is characterized by a commitment to engaging students and making complex concepts accessible and understandable. This commitment not only enhances the educational experience for her students but also helps prepare them for successful futures in engineering and technology.
Professional Experience
Dr. Caggiano's professional experience is diverse and rich, having worked in various roles that bridge academia and industry. Before joining Cornell University, she served as an Assistant Professor in Operations and Information Management at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was instrumental in teaching and developing courses related to operations research. Her earlier roles included a Visiting Scientist position at Cornell University, where she contributed to research initiatives in the School of Operations Research and Industrial Engineering.
In the corporate sector, Dr. Caggiano has held various positions that leverage her expertise in supply chain modeling and optimization. Notably, she worked as a Product Specialist and Senior Consultant at PeopleSoft, and prior to that, she was a Staff/Senior Consultant at Price Waterhouse Management Consultants. These roles provided her with firsthand experience in the challenges and dynamics of the technology and consulting industries, which she effectively integrates into her teaching methodology.
Contributions to Education and Community
Dr. Caggiano's commitment to education is matched by her dedication to community service and professional development. Her leadership roles within academic organizations demonstrate her proactive approach to enhancing graduate studies, particularly in the science and engineering disciplines. As President of the Arts & Sciences Graduate Studies Advisory Board at William & Mary, she plays a crucial role in shaping policies and initiatives that promote graduate education and professional development.
Moreover, her involvement in professional organizations and boards showcases her belief in the importance of continued learning and networking within the community. By fostering relationships among alumni and current students, she contributes significantly to their professional growth and opportunities.
In summary, Dr. Kathryn Caggiano is a highly respected figure in the fields of engineering and operational research education. With her extensive experience in academia and industry, coupled with her strong educational background, she exemplifies the qualities of a dedicated educator and leader. Her contributions to the academic community, coupled with her focus on practical, real-world applications, ensure that her students are not only well-prepared for their careers but also equipped to make meaningful contributions to their respective fields. Her numerous accolades and leadership positions reflect the high regard in which she is held by her peers and the positive impact she has made within the realm of engineering education.
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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.