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Laura Pigion
Operations Director, Global Learning & Development, HR Core Operations & Services
Professional Background
Laura Pigion is an accomplished operations, portfolio, and project management professional with over 15 years of experience in serving as a trusted leader for Fortune 500 companies. Her extensive career reflects her dedication to not only achieving organizational goals but also enhancing team dynamics and operational efficiencies. Laura’s impressive tenure at Nike demonstrates her capacity to lead and execute significant global business process improvement and transformational initiatives across diverse sectors, including Retail, Human Resources, Corporate Services, and Technology.
In her role as Operations Director at Global Learning & Development within HR Core Operations & Services at Nike, Laura has been instrumental in ensuring that strategic investments are aligned with overarching business objectives. She effectively manages cross-functional project portfolios while delivering tangible business value and outcomes. Laura’s ability to simplify complex strategies and create practical solutions has positioned her as an invaluable asset in any collaborative setting. Her balanced approach to soft and hard skills allows her to employ emotional intelligence and adaptive communication effectively, ensuring productive decision-making processes across all organizational levels.
Her leadership style not only fosters a culture of teamwork but also motivates her teams to embrace the vision and mission of their collective work. Laura is passionate about inducing positive changes that improve outcomes for both customers and employees alike.
Education and Achievements
Laura's educational background is marked by a diverse array of studies. She obtained her Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Industrial Engineering from the prestigious Northwestern University, where she gained a solid foundation in analytical thinking and problem-solving techniques that she would later apply throughout her career.
Moreover, Laura’s commitment to excellence in various fields is further exemplified by her studies in Flute Performance at the New England Conservatory of Music. This artistic pursuit has enriched Laura’s creative and communicative abilities, enhancing her leadership qualities.
Notably, she has also completed specialized training at the Mazamas where she studied Intermediate Climbing School, as well as Advanced Rock, and Advanced Snow & Ice. Additionally, she participated in a Semester in Alaska with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), which empowered her with practical skills and leadership experience in challenging environments.
Certifications
In her quest for continuous improvement and professional development, Laura proudly holds several reputable certifications, including:
- Project Management Professional (PMP): A globally recognized certification that underscores her expertise in project management principles and practices.
- Lean Six Sigma Black Belt: This certification demonstrates her proficiency in process improvement methodologies, emphasizing her commitment to operational excellence.
Career Progression
Laura Pigion’s career has progressed through a series of increasingly responsible roles, primarily at Nike, where she has held multiple positions that have allowed her to showcase her strategic thinking and management capabilities. Her journey began as a Quality Engineering Co-op at Amcor, where she developed foundational skills in quality assurance and process optimization.
She then transitioned to Intel Corporation, where Laura served in various capacities, including Project Manager/Business Analyst within Global HR Talent Acquisition and Systems Engineer for Global Environmental Health & Safety Operations. Her diverse experiences at Intel helped her cultivate essential competencies in project management and operations—skills that would serve her well in her later positions.
At Nike, Laura has successfully navigated different roles, starting as a Talent Acquisition Manager for North America Direct to Consumer, culminating in her current role as the Operations Director for Global Learning & Development in HR Core Operations & Services. During her time at Nike, Laura has held responsibilities that reflect her depth of knowledge in Talent Acquisition, Org Effectiveness, and Diversity & Inclusion, showcasing her commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace.
In her capacity as Portfolio Director, she has effectively led various HR operations, including the development and execution of strategic initiatives aimed at enhancing workforce capabilities while maintaining a sharp focus on organizational goals. Laura’s influence has permeated throughout the company’s HR Ops, underlining her dedication to not only elevating team performance but also optimizing the employee experience.
Notable Achievements
Throughout her distinguished career, Laura Pigion has achieved several remarkable milestones, including:
- Successfully leading and executing large-scale transformation projects that streamlined operations across multiple sectors, enhancing employee engagement and productivity.
- Establishing cross-functional collaborations that resulted in innovative solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of various departments.
- Implementing business process improvement initiatives that positioned HR operations at the forefront of technological advancements and industry best practices.
- Mentoring and training aspiring project managers and leaders, exemplifying her commitment to leadership development and knowledge sharing.
Focus Areas
Laura’s expertise encompasses a blend of operational mastery and project management, with significant focus on:
- Portfolio Management: Managing assets and resources strategically to align with organizational objectives.
- Program and Project Management: Leading multifaceted projects from conceptualization to execution, ensuring adherence to deadlines and budgets.
- Change Management: Navigating the dynamics of organizational change to foster employee buy-in and minimize resistance.
- Business Process Improvement: Identifying inefficiencies and implementing streamlined processes to enhance productivity.
- Operations Management: Overseeing day-to-day activities while ensuring alignment with broader strategic goals.
- Technology Systems Design and Implementation: Leveraging technology to improve HR processes and enhance user experiences.
Laura Pigion’s journey thus far illustrates her role as a catalyst for change in Fortune 500 companies, embodying a perfect blend of leadership, strategic thinking, and a deep commitment to enhancing both employee and customer experiences. Her diverse background and array of skills render her an influential figure within operations and project management, and she continues to advance her career with a passion for excellence and transformative growth.
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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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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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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 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 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'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.