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Kelly Schmidt
Sr Manager, Talent Acquisition at Yum! Brands
Professional Background
Kelly Schmidt is a seasoned Senior Human Resources expert with extensive experience in HR strategy, particularly within the realm of technology start-ups. With a deep understanding of the intricacies involved in managing human resources for large, complex global organizations, Kelly has successfully influenced senior executives to drive HR innovation and transformation. Her professional journey has been marked by a commitment to excellence and a passion for fostering a culture of continuous learning and development.
Throughout her career, Kelly has made significant contributions to various organizations across ten international locations and has played a critical role within three digital media divisions. Her background includes pivotal positions such as Sr Leader, Talent Acquisition and HR Technology at Yum! Brands, where she leveraged her expertise in HR Innovation, strategic consulting, and talent acquisition to enhance workforce strategies and optimize HR technology solutions.
In her previous roles at Yum! Brands, Kelly served as both the New Digital Venture HR Leader and the Talent Acquisition and HR Business Partner. Her ability to navigate and lead within the dynamic landscape of HR has made her a valuable asset in shaping organizational culture and driving effective change management initiatives. Furthermore, her tenure as HR Leader at Yum! Brands exemplifies her hands-on experience in both operational and strategic aspects of HR management.
Before her notable career at Yum! Brands, Kelly held significant roles with the National Football League (NFL), where she was the Director of Human Resources and later an HR Generalist. These positions allowed her to interface with diverse teams and implement HR best practices that supported the mission and objectives of the NFL. She also cultivated her international HR expertise while serving as the International HR Manager at Continental Airlines, reinforcing her comprehensive knowledge of global HR dynamics and talent management.
Education and Achievements
Kelly's educational foundation is rooted in business management, having earned her Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) with a focus on Business Administration, Management, and Operations from Auburn University. Additionally, she holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation Management from the same prestigious institution. Kelly's academic achievements underscore her dedication to enhancing her understanding of business and human capital management, which has significantly contributed to her professional success.
Kelly's pursuit of knowledge and professional growth has also led her to further studies at Seton Hall University, enriching her expertise and expanding her professional network within the HR domain. This commitment to education reflects her belief in the importance of lifelong learning and staying abreast of emerging trends and technologies in human resources.
Achievements
- Extensive International Experience: Successfully led HR initiatives across over ten international locations, showcasing her ability to adapt HR strategies in diverse cultural landscapes.
- HR Leader at Leading Organizations: Held key HR positions at two prominent organizations, Yum! Brands and the National Football League, influencing HR policy and organizational strategy.
- Innovative HR Practices: Pioneered innovative HR practices in technology start-ups, enhancing talent acquisition strategies and succession planning processes.
- Global Workforce Strategy: Expert in workforce strategy and planning, adept at aligning HR practices with business objectives to support global organizational success.
- Change Management Proficiency: Led successful change management initiatives, helping organizations navigate transitions and foster resilience within their teams.
Personal Interests
In addition to her impressive professional credentials, Kelly is an avid football fan and a passionate supporter of her alma mater, the Auburn Tigers. Her enthusiasm for the team is a testament to her dedication and loyalty, traits that also manifest in her professional relationships. Living in Louisville, she enjoys exploring the realm of fine dining and local events, appreciating the vibrant culture and community around her. In her downtime, you'll find Kelly enjoying the company of her beloved Golden Retriever, Molly, who undoubtedly brings joy and comfort to her life.
Through her blend of professional expertise, continuous personal development, and community involvement, Kelly Schmidt stands as a leading figure in the HR field, exemplifying the qualities of a dedicated and innovative leader.
tags':['Senior Human Resources Expert','HR Strategy','Technology Start-ups','HR Innovation','Talent Acquisition','Succession Planning','Workforce Strategy','Change Management','Human Capital Analytics','MBA','Aviation Management','Yum! Brands','National Football League','Human Resources Leadership','HR Technology','Global Organizations'],
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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
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- Timeline: Shows your relationship history with each contact
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- 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.