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Tomas van der Heijden
Co-Founder & CEO at Briink - We're Hiring!
Professional Background
Tomas van der Heijden is a creative and visionary leader in the realm of sustainable finance and technology. He currently serves as the Co-Founder and CEO of Briink, a cutting-edge SaaS platform that aims to revolutionize the way companies comply with environmental regulations. Under his stewardship, Briink is driving a much-needed transformation within the European economy, specifically targeting the urgent goal of achieving climate neutrality. The European Union's ambitious net-zero targets require an unprecedented transformation of the economy, and Tomas is dedicated to leveraging innovative technology and data analytics to facilitate this crucial shift.
Based in the vibrant Berlin AI Campus, Briink is backed financially by Merantix AG, granting access to a remarkable network of over 90 engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs. This extensive network allows Tomas and his team to harness collective expertise and immense data processing capabilities to offer solutions that enable companies to navigate complex regulatory frameworks, thus removing the hurdles of cost and time that often impede progress towards climate objectives.
Education and Achievements
Tomas's academic background is impressive and spans several prestigious institutions. He studied both Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) and Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) at McGill University, equipping him with a strong foundation in legal principles that undoubtedly assist him in navigating the regulatory landscape of sustainable finance. He further expanded his expertise in European law through a Diploma at Université Jean Moulin (Lyon III). His education in the social sciences is equally robust; he earned his Honours Bachelor of Arts (H.B.A.) in Political Science and Economics from the University of Toronto and also studied Political Science and Economics at Maastricht University. This blend of law and social sciences complements his current work in sustainability and finance, allowing him to approach problems from a multidisciplinary perspective that is particularly advantageous when developing solutions at Briink.
Career Milestones
Before founding Briink, Tomas accumulated extensive experience in product management and legal services. He served as the Entrepreneur In Residence at Merantix, where he honed his entrepreneurial skills and developed strategies that prepare startups for impactful launch and growth. At ROSS Intelligence, a legal tech company, Tomas held multiple key roles, including Vice President of Product and Head of Product & Legal. His leadership in product development was instrumental in driving innovation in legal technology, enabling legal teams to utilize AI for enhanced efficiency and accuracy in their processes. In addition to his roles in the tech industry, Tomas has a background in traditional legal practice, having worked as a Corporate Associate and an Articling Student at Stikeman Elliott LLP, one of Canada’s premier law firms. His experience as a Prosecutor with the City of Toronto Legal Services - Prosecutions Office showcases his strong legal acumen and commitment to upholding the law. Moreover, Tomas's role as an Industry Services Executive at GS1 Australia Ltd reflects his versatility and ability to navigate different sectors, promoting standards that benefit business operations and facilitate smoother market access.
Achievements
Tomas van der Heijden has made significant contributions to the fields of sustainable finance and legal technology, particularly through his leadership at Briink, which is designed to transform compliance and enable businesses to meet their climate goals effectively. His innovative mindset and proactive approach have positioned Briink as a leader in harnessing AI for sustainability. Participation in key organizations and initiatives speaks volumes about his commitment to driving impactful change in the industry. With a rich educational background and extensive professional experience, Tomas stands out as a leader poised to influence the future of sustainable finance in Europe and beyond.
Highlights
As someone deeply immersed in the world of ESG, but also as the co-founder of an AI company, I've noticed a recurring pattern:
There are still considerable apprehensions and misconceptions about the role AI can play in ESG.
I personally believe that these fears can be detrimental to our ESG goals. This is especially crucial as there is a shortage of ESG talent. This talent gap could prevent businesses from intensifying their ESG efforts with the speed required by the climate transition.
These are some of the #myths I identified:
🛑 Myth 1: Human judgement is all that matters in ESG
"AI can't contribute to ESG, because ESG it's all about human judgment." False. AI doesn't replace judgment; it amplifies it. By sifting through data sets and documents, and surfacing crucial information, AI reduces the noise and empowers ESG analysts to make more informed decisions grounded in data and context.
🔁 Myth 2: AI will take my ESG job
"AI will make human ESG analysts obsolete, so I better stay away from it." Far from it. AI augments analysts, freeing them from routine tasks, and enabling them to focus on strategic insights.
We hear over and over again that ESG workers are increasingly drowning in small manual tasks, like reading long reports, writing emails, staying on top of different regulatory frameworks, etc. These things prevent people from focusing on real impact.
🍃 Myth 3: AI is the gateway to greenwashing
"AI-produced content is often false and misleading; if we rely too much on it, this will increase the likelihood of greenwashing." Not if we wield AI tools responsibly.
Like with any other piece of software, users should be educated about its usage - and the UI can play a key role in ensuring hallucinations are easily spotted. For example, at Briink, we tackle the issue of hallucinations by also making sure our models reference the source of their outputs, so that analysts can quickly and easily fact-check the information provided.
If you are curious, Samuel King recently wrote a post on this topic: https://lnkd.in/dxvzD75U
🤖 Myth 4: AI carries intrinsic biases that are actually harmful for ESG:
"AI's biases make it unfit for ESG analysis." Not quite. Biases are not an intrinsic feature of the model, but emerge from the training dataset. They can be mitigated through careful design, retrieval augmented generation, diverse data sources, and constant monitoring, ensuring AI-driven ESG decisions align with our values.
Personally, I find it helpful when AI tools keep a “human in the loop”: this not only ensure the quality of the model’s outputs, but also helps keeping harmful biases in check.
In a nutshell, it's time to reframe our perspectives on #AI and #ESG. AI is a tool for progress, and we need to acknowledge its abilities while remaining vigilant about its potential pitfalls.
Just as in every other industry, generative AI will revolutionize ESG reporting.
But it’s crucial we apply these powerful LLMs in a smart way, to preserve the accuracy and reliability of ESG data, prevent greenwashing, and ensure the protection of sensitive company data.
I wrote this article to shed more light on important topics like "hallucination", strategies to handle data privacy concerns by toggling between different types of LLMs (or not using them at all in some use cases in favour of more traditional NLP techniques), and some considerations about how ESG teams should think about integrating generative AI into their daily workflows.
If you find this topic interesting, (or if you’d like to join the conversation!) my team at Briink will host a webinar about AI in ESG reporting next week, led by Samuel King: https://lnkd.in/dGwygBvQ
#ai #esgreporting #data #aihallucinations
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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:
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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.
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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.
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.