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Mike Pino
Driving Value through People, Process, Platforms, and Performance
Professional Background
Mike Pino is a dedicated and innovative leader with over 25 years of experience in transforming strategies, technologies, policy frameworks, and people to create substantial performance value across various industries. Known for his dynamic approach and commitment to excellence, Mike has made a significant impact in both the corporate and educational sectors, leading global teams and shaping the future of learning and development.
Throughout his illustrious career, Mike has developed several brand-defining and award-winning platforms and products, including BrilliantYOU, Eruditus’s Emeritus, CorpU’s Academy, and Harvard ManageMentor. His contributions to the fields of leadership training and educational technology are notable, particularly through the successful integration of cutting-edge technologies such as computational linguistics, artificial intelligence, and simulation-based learning environments.
Mike’s leadership journey includes over 15 years of experience overseeing technology services, managing global initiatives, and enhancing learning and leadership capabilities in academic institutions, large corporations, and media companies. His strategic vision has helped numerous startups and early-stage organizations navigate the product development lifecycle, achieve product-market fit, and ultimately reach profitability.
Education and Achievements
Mike holds an impressive academic background, boasting a Ph.D. in English with a focus on etymology, 19th-century literature, and computational linguistics from the City University of New York - Graduate Center. He also earned an M. Phil. in English from Queens College and graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in English and minors in Chemistry and Spanish from the University of Miami.
His scholarly pursuits are complemented by a passion for languages, evidenced by his reading proficiency in Biblical Greek, Hebrew, Spanish, Italian, and Latin. This rich educational foundation underpins his ability to communicate complex ideas effectively and to engage with diverse teams across cultural boundaries.
In his professional journey, Mike has held significant positions, including a former partner at PwC, where he played a pivotal role in launching the Future of Work practice. Additionally, he served as the Global Director of Strategy and Innovation at Cognizant Academy, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to driving organizational success through innovative learning and development initiatives.
Among his notable achievements, Mike holds two patents in learning assessment technology, showcasing his dedication to advancing the educational landscape through practical and transformative solutions. His participation in global committees focused on industry interoperability standards highlights his role as a thought leader and collaborator in the field.
Leadership and Consulting Experience
Mike’s leadership capabilities extend beyond traditional roles, influencing the trajectory of various organizations through strategic decision-making and innovative problem-solving. As Executive Director at XED, he harnessed his expertise to devise impactful digital upskilling and re-skilling programs, key components of a comprehensive digital transformation strategy.
His previous roles, including Principal at Targeted Velocity and various leadership positions at Cognizant, GE, and Harvard, underline his ability to lead complex and cross-functional teams, overcoming challenges in dynamic environments while fostering a culture of collaboration and growth. This skill set has been further enhanced by his experience managing offshore and virtual teams, showcasing his adaptability and global perspective.
Impact in Learning and Technology
Throughout his career, Mike has been instrumental in delivering high-quality educational experiences through the strategic application of technology. By developing multi-player game design in virtual reality, he innovates how performance and Agile concepts are taught and measured, providing learners with engaging and practical applications of their training.
Mike’s commitment to solving complex business challenges reflects his comfort with ambiguity and complexity, enabling him to assess needs accurately, galvanize teams, and cultivate a shared vision for success. His keen insight into compliance and management landscapes has proven crucial as he navigates the evolving dynamics of the industry.
Continuous Learning and Development
In addition to his professional achievements, Mike has shared his expertise as an Adjunct Instructor at various prestigious institutions, including Providence College, NJIT, Queens College, and the College of Staten Island, CUNY. By engaging the next generation of leaders and thinkers, he combines academic rigor with real-world application—a hallmark of his professional philosophy.
Moreover, his history of practical applications of research in fields such as technology innovation, corporate learning, and digital strategy has established him as a highly respected figure in the industry. Mike’s ability to lead discussions around strategic initiatives in learning and development makes him a sought-after voice in forums and workshops across the globe.
In conclusion, Mike Pino's extensive background in strategy, technology, and education, paired with his proven track record of leadership and innovation, positions him as a key player in driving change and transforming organizations in today's rapidly evolving landscape. His endeavor to impact performance, value, and learning will continue to resonate and inspire future generations of leaders.
Achievements
- Developed award-winning platforms and products
- Led global teams in diverse organizational settings
- Former partner at PwC, contributing to Future of Work practice
- Facilitated startups in achieving product-market fit
- Patented technologies in learning assessment
Future Goals
- To innovate further in the field of educational technology
- To continue developing strategies that align with the digital transformation goals of organizations
- To enhance leadership development practices through novel approaches to learning.
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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.
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