In this episode of The EA Campus Podcast, we are thrilled to be joined by Roxanne Smith, PA, at DeepMind. Roxanne is a thoughtful and determined Assistant who brings such a depth of knowledge to any conversation about the Assistant role. Roxanne is ten years into her Assistant career and is building an impressive range of skills that make her stand out in our industry. In this episode, we talk about her return to work after starting a family, how she works within a team of Assistants, managing the challenges that come with the role and what she hopes to see in the future for the Assistant industry.

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On this episode, we are joined by Fiona Shea, EA to the Group Chief Executive at Legal and General. Fiona has over twenty years of experience working with senior board-level Executives. Her knowledge shines through in this interview. We discuss the partnership with her current Executive and her techniques for remembering every request. Fiona shares her experience working at Enron in its last days and moving between industries as an Assistant.

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We are delighted to be joined by Jessie Pearson, PA, to CFO and Director of Strategy & Corporate Development at Workspace Group. A London-based real estate business. We talked across a broad range of subjects in this discussion, including Jessie’s start as a receptionist and how that helped her in her Assistant career; we spoke of her need to take short-term contracts while dealing with very personal challenges at home and how that shaped her outlook on life and her career. And we talked about how she structures her day and the value she has brought to acquisition projects in her organisation. 

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Janice is the Executive Assistant to the CEO and Founder of Luno. Janice has over 14 years of experience working in Australia and London, and she currently supports her Executive remotely from her home in Melbourne. Janice is incredibly passionate about the Assistant role and has a huge amount of knowledge which I'm so pleased she has shared with our listeners.

We discuss how she manages her day while working remotely, the development of her leadership skills and how she manages a team of Assistants. We talk about her day and why it is important to communicate what Assistants do daily. We discussed the importance of asking for what you want and building your confidence through networking and finding your voice.

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Rosy and I recorded the podcast just a few months before she decided to leave Etsy to travel and spend time with her family, but we are really grateful to be able to share the conversation with you today. 

During the conversation, we discussed how she started her career as an Assistnat, having previously worked in the theatre. We discussed how she worked with her Executive and managed their time effectively. We talked about how important it is to have a strong network of Assistants within an organisation and their power when working together. We talked about technology and Rosy’s love of Google Calendar! And how much she enjoys managing new Assistants and seeing her team grow in confidence.

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Abigail Jones, EA at Meta, always brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to these talks, and she doesn’t disappoint today. We discussed her career, her passions outside of her work, how she likes to work in partnership with her Executive, the strengths she brings to the Assistant role and how she protects her boundaries. 

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We are delighted to be joined by Emma Kate Bos, Executive Assistant to the CEO at APA Group, Australia's largest natural gas infrastructure business. 

Emma is a highly skilled EA with vast business support, events, project management, and operations knowledge. In our interview, we discussed Emma Kate's choice to be an Assistant, her love of managing other Assistants and Administrators, building a relationship with a first-time CEO, working strategically, listening to her gut and making decisions. 

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Tina is an incredibly focused and strategic force, and she offers a tremendous amount of value to our listeners today. I loved talking with her and hearing about her health journey and how that has contributed to increased confidence. Her move to Berlin and why she changed her career focus from marketing and communications to supporting the CEO and C-Suite at Babbel. 

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We are delighted to be joined by Renee Viens, Partner Executive Assistant at Underscore VC. Renee lives in Boston, Massachusetts and has been an EA for over 20 years in various industries supporting all levels of the c-suite. 

We discuss Renee’s new Underscore VC role and the recruitment process. We talk about her incredible network and ability to pull people together. We talk about her achievements in her role, events she has organised and her ability to perform calendar management Jenga frequently. 

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In the second episode of The EA Campus Podcast, we are thrilled to be joined by Suzie Ellams, EA, to the Co-CEO & CTO of OSTTRA. Suzie has been an Assistant for twenty years working at Elle Magazine, Burberry and now OSTTRA, a start-up Fintech company. In our conversation, Suzie shares tips on starting working in fashion and publishing.

Her decision to take a career break to start her family and how she now handles boundaries and prioritises her time. Suzie and Nicky talk about the importance of transferable skills for Assistants, and Suzie tells us about starting her new role during the pandemic and working in a hybrid environment. And of course, if her experience working at a fashion magazine was anything like the film The Devil Wears Prada!

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