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Ralph Ashton
Executive Director, Next25: Think future. Act today.
Professional Background
Ralph Ashton is a distinguished leader and innovator known for his extensive work in fostering dialogue around Australia’s future through the establishment of Next25. With a compelling blend of frustration, curiosity, and optimism, Ralph embarked on his journey to create this pivotal organization ten years ago. His motivation stemmed from observing a wealthy nation like Australia seemingly ignoring pressing issues and the need for a coherent strategy to address them. Over the years, Ralph has engaged with over one thousand leaders and experts from diverse sectors across Australia, underscoring the collective concern regarding Australia's future. In his role as Executive Director at Next25, Ralph has spearheaded initiatives aimed at strengthening the nation's future-making capabilities by focusing on three foundational pillars: defining the desired future, assessing the existing system's capabilities, and addressing its shortcomings.
Through his extensive dialogue and engagement with stakeholders, Ralph has identified that while Australia has immense potential, the current frameworks are not sufficiently robust to sustain long-term success. His work has emphasized the necessity of public engagement alongside expert consultations to ensure a comprehensive approach toward rejuvenating and fortifying the future-making system in Australia.
Education and Achievements
Ralph Ashton holds a prestigious educational background that includes substantial academic achievements and research roles. He has served as an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at La Trobe University and spent time as a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University in New York City, showcasing his commitment to learning and sharing knowledge. Further enriching his academic journey, Ralph has also been a Visiting Fellow at The Australian National University and studied at renowned institutions like the University of Hamburg and Universität Passau in Germany.
His academic qualifications include an LLB (Hons) and a BA (Hons) in Law, Politics, and German from the University of Melbourne. This diverse educational foundation not only equips him with the necessary skills for his current role but also frames his approach to problem-solving and critical thinking.
Notable Achievements
Ralph Ashton's noteworthy career is marked by a series of influential roles across various sectors. Prior to founding Next25, he held several key positions that contributed to his vast expertise in environmental sustainability and corporate responsibility. As the former Convenor and Chair at the Terrestrial Carbon Group, Ralph played a critical role in advocating for strategies to address climate change through natural carbon management. His experience as the Global Tsunami Response Coordinator at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) highlights his leadership during times of crises, spearheading international responses to natural disasters.
In his previous role as Program Lead for Water at WWF-Australia, Ralph developed impactful strategies for water conservation and sustainability, further solidifying his reputation as an expert in environmental policy. His early career as an Investment Banker at Greenhill Caliburn equipped him with essential financial acumen that aids in the fiscal planning and management of initiatives at Next25.
In addition to his corporate and environmental roles, Ralph has also made significant contributions to the arts and culture as the Sydney Director of the Real Life on Film Festival, illustrating his versatility and commitment to engaging communities in various forms of expression.
Conclusion
Ralph Ashton stands out as a dynamic leader dedicated to driving meaningful change in Australia. Through his work with Next25, he is committed to addressing the country’s current challenges and reimagining its future. By uniting public opinion with expert insights, Ralph seeks to empower Australians to take action and create a future that reflects the nation's true potential. His educational pedigree, extensive professional experience, and proven track record of accomplishments position him as a key figure in the discourse on sustainability and future-making in Australia.
Highlights
One of the organisations I'm proud to be a part of, Next25, is hiring. Next25 is an independent and innovative think-and-do tank on a mission to ensure Australia has what it takes to make the future its people want. We are seeking a well-connected engagement lead with insight into the challenges of the political system and a desire to support politicians as a lever for restoring trust in government.
Do you, or does someone you know: ✅ Care about democratic recession and the erosion of trust in government? ✅ Like the idea of supporting Australian politicians to connect across jurisdictions and party lines, develop their values-based leadership, and consider their agency and role in transforming the political system? ✅ Have a nuanced understanding of how the ecosystem around politics works and an established network to engage with?
You could be Next25's inaugural Senior Engagement Lead, using your exceptional relationship-building skills and established network to boost participation in Next25's transformative programs for Australian Federal, State, and Territory parliamentarians.
More information at the link. Please reach out to Chloё Spackman with any questions.
Chloё Spackman is #hiring. Great opportunity for a talented Program Manager to join an innovative, high calibre, and growing team.
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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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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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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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