Referrals are considered one of the strongest means to get in touch with a new contact, especially one with a lot of public visibility and a full inbox. Find a common interest that they have with you. Check out their activity in social media like Linkedin or Twitter. You can remove the "cold call" aspect by engaging them indirectly by joining a LinkedIN group and contributing to a discussion or replying intelligently to a tweet they have made. I would then follow-up with a referral by explaining to your contact the benefits you expect to achieve in connecting with them and if your referrer is a new contact, a short bio of you and your company. Anything you can do to increase familiarity and differentiate yourself from everyone else getting in touch with them will help your cause. On top of that, if they are part of the Clarity network, use an expertise request as a first chance to talk with them live.