REACH - A Podcast for Executive Assistants
94 episodes - English - Latest episode: 6 months ago - ★★★★★ - 105 ratingsREACH is for the Executive Assistant who hustles hard, strives for excellence and is committed to seeking out life’s “aha moments” to help you reach the next stage in your development and career. In each episode, expect to gain invaluable insight from our personal network of Executive Assistants whose careers span the Fortune 500, Silicon Valley Venture Capital firms and your favorite tech companies and start-ups. Hosted by Maven Recruiting Group’s Founder and CEO, Jessica Vann, this is your opportunity to participate in the solidarity of listening to people who “get it.” REACH is designed to inspire your workday, guide you through pivotal moments in your career and transform you into the Executive Assistant you’ve always wanted to be. REACH is brought to you by Maven Recruiting Group who specializes in placing Executive Assistants and support staff to the Bay Area’s most prominent Executives and companies. You can learn more about Maven at www.mavenrec.com.
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Episodes
What One Executive Assistant Learned from Being in the Room with Renowned Tech Leaders
January 29, 2024 12:00 - 1 hour - 120 MBIn her nearly 25-year long career, Anita Gaeta has had two primary support relationships, each lasting over a decade, which suggests a lot not only about Anita’s immense value to these executives, but also the depth and extent of her partnerships and the tremendous opportunities for learning and exchange Anita has had. When we look at Anita’s career, she has been courtside with some of the most formidable and accomplished Titans of Tech, including Meg Whitman, former CEO of both eBay and Hew...
Understanding Your Rights as an Employee + Tips for Executive Assistants Creating Workplace Policies
December 18, 2023 16:18 - 1 hour - 114 MBIf you’re an executive assistant curious about your rights as an employee or perhaps you work in an environment where you’re tasked with being the defacto HR person or setting employee policy, this episode is for you. We're diving into the complex world of employment law with two experts who know the ins and outs of this topic. And, I promise you, if anyone can make the law fun and relevant, it’s our guests, Angel Horacek, Founding Partner and Attorney at Law Offices of Angel J. Horacek, PC ...
Defining & Owning Your Support Style: Advice for Executive Assistants Working in Creative Entrepreneurship
December 04, 2023 12:00 - 41 minutes - 76.8 MBNatasha Rodriguez, Business Operations Manager at Eyeswoon joins us from Brooklyn to talk about her role supporting the renowned Athena Calderone, dubbed as “the modern girl’s Martha Stewart” by none other than The New York Times. You may know Athena as a chef and author of the James Beard award-winning cookbook, Cook Beautiful, or perhaps you’re familiar with who she is as a designer, her book Live Beautiful or maybe you’ve seen one of her brilliant design pieces on Crate & Barrel’s website...
Perspectives on the Loneliness Epidemic in the Workplace and How to Conduct a Successful Negotiation
November 06, 2023 15:32 - 59 minutes - 108 MBIn this episode of REACH, we're joined by Professor Juliana Schroeder. Juliana is the Harold Furst Chair in Management Philosophy and Values Professor at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business & she just recently gave a TEDx Talk on how to connect better in light of the loneliness epidemic plaguing American culture. Schroeder is a behavioral scientist who researches the psychological processes by which people think about the minds of other people, particularly in workplace contexts. The att...
The Story of a C-Level Executive Assistant Becoming a Business Owner, Life Coach & Motherhood Mentor
October 16, 2023 15:15 - 46 minutes - 84.4 MBStarting at just 15 years old, Violet Ostuni devoted much of her life to the Executive Assistant profession and worked her way to support CEOs of companies such as Zoox, Federation Bio, CSpence Group, Genstar Capital & Full Harvest. She’s held various demanding support positions and, as any good EA does, has made her executives’ goals and objectives her #1 priority, that is, until recently! Violet shares her journey from Executive Assistant to business owner, life coach, podcaster and mother...
Viewpoints on DEI in the Workplace
September 11, 2023 11:00 - 1 hour - 118 MBToday’s workspaces function very differently than they did even a year ago. Post-COVID era accommodations fundamentally shifted how we do work. A different kind of effort must be made to maintain our human connections that form as we work alongside each other. An important aspect of these connections that contribute to company culture is benefitting from inclusive and diverse workspaces. In this episode of REACH, we have the pleasure of speaking with Candace Deanes, who has had an illustriou...
Do I Need a Temp? How to Evaluate the Need for Temporary Coverage, Plus How to Hire, Train & Set Up a Contract Worker for Success
August 28, 2023 11:00 - 37 minutes - 68.3 MBIn this episode, we have the privilege of interviewing one of our very own from Maven Recruiting Group, Shirin Esmaili, Account Director & Team Lead of our Temporary Division. Shirin works with our clients to fill critical gaps such as those created by parental leave, disability, vacations or just a need for additional bandwidth or capacity to get through a crunch period. Over her Maven tenure, Shirin has navigated nearly every request or situation imaginable and counseled countless clients ...
The Executive Assistant Role from Venture Capital and Start-Up Vantage Points
July 19, 2023 17:56 - 50 minutes - 92.6 MBWe’re delighted to welcome Lorynn Boland to our program! She is an EA who has navigated both sides of the aisle, so to speak, having spent five years at Kleiner Perkins, the legendary venture capital firm, and now the last six months supporting the CEO of PlanetScale, a database platform for developers with infinite scalability. Today we’ll be learning about Lorynn’s experiences of supporting in these environments which, while different, are also inextricably linked and symbiotic. We feel t...
Leveraging AI to 10x Your Work as an Executive Assistant
July 05, 2023 14:28 - 1 hour - 114 MBIn this episode, we welcome back Executive Coach and Co-Creator of Maven’s e-learning course and coaching program, Julia Quijano. Julia and Jessica recently finished the recording and roll-out of our latest e-course, “Becoming a Strategic Partner.” In furtherance to that conversation, here is a follow-up on an emerging area that is presenting itself as another strategic opportunity for executive assistants to 10x their work: the rapidly evolving area of AI. As a quick refresher, Julia is a ...
Understanding the Legal and Security Landscape of AI in your Executive Assistant Role
June 19, 2023 15:05 - 50 minutes - 92.9 MBIn the continuously evolving AI landscape, we’ve only scratched the surface on the potential of AI as well as the latent security and legal issues that are co-emerging with the advent of AI technology, especially as that relates to the Executive Assistant role. As we further our exploration of AI in the workplace, we’ve invited subject matter expert Abraham Kang, Managing Consultant at Include Security LLC, to our program. Abe is both an information security leader and subject matter exper...
Leveraging AI as a Strategic Advantage in your Executive Assistant Role
May 22, 2023 13:59 - 50 minutes - 92.9 MBThe space of AI is moving so fast and evolving so quickly! AI is in the headlines nearly daily as people debate its merits, its utility in supporting efficiency and productivity, as well as the ethical and somewhat dystopian implications of its use as we incorporate it more and more into our daily lives and work. We've invited Nikki Dickman to our program to discuss her experience with AI and how she sees it supporting today's executive assistants. Nikki is particularly qualified to spea...
Former EA to CEO of Twitter on How to Accelerate Your Career
May 08, 2023 11:00 - 1 hour - 129 MBTaylor DeLorenzo is the definition of an A-list Executive Assistant and high achiever. As an Ivy League graduate from Cornell, her first Executive Assistant role was supporting a Founder, and in her next role she served as the right-hand to the CEO of publicly traded Shake Shack. She then leaped over to Twitter where she ended her tenure there supporting the CEO and saw them through their much publicized takeover by Elon Musk. In this episode, Taylor shares her story and her thoughts on...
Life as an Executive Assistant in a Publicly Traded vs Privately Held Company
April 10, 2023 17:47 - 37 minutes - 68.9 MBIf you’re a regular listener of REACH, you know that we like to unpack the nuances associated within EA roles across industries and across stages of organizational maturity. We’ve talked previously about what’s involved in taking a company public from the EA perspective, and in this episode with Katherine Estep, who currently supports the CFO at Udemy with executive operations, we discuss the specific responsibilities of an EA working in a publicly traded company. Katherine joined Udemy the ...
What Does it Mean to be an Executive Assistant in a “War Room?”
March 27, 2023 14:42 - 40 minutes - 74.8 MBYou may be familiar with the term “war room” or “situation room” as it relates to the Presidential Cabinet where the President and his advisors retreat to strategize on highly sensitive or critical matters. Today Rachel Tan joins us to discuss the role an Executive Assistant plays in a war room in the context of a business. While Rachel currently supports the CEO & President of Benchling with strategic programs, she also has experience supporting Chief Marketing Officers and working closely ...
Career & Life Lessons from Michelle Obama’s Former Assistant & Right Hand: Part Two
March 13, 2023 15:24 - 38 minutes - 69.6 MBWe know you're excited for Part Two of our conversation with Chynna Clayton, former Executive Assistant to Michelle Obama and current Founder of Matriarch Made Development - and we're happy to deliver! Join us as we delve into Chynna’s formative years that helped shape her into the person she is today, learn all that went into supporting a celebrity and someone as high profile and adored as former First Lady Michelle Obama, as well as Chynna’s three life takeaways and lessons from her time ...
Career & Life Lessons from Michelle Obama’s Former Assistant & Right Hand: Part One
February 27, 2023 12:00 - 32 minutes - 60.2 MBWe are thrilled to release part one of our conversation with none other than Chynna Clayton who spent over a decade as the Executive Assistant to the legendary Michelle Obama, first in her capacity as FLOTUS, then for another 6 years after Mrs. Obama departed the White House. Chynna's story has been featured in Vogue and Oprah Daily, so we are especially grateful that she agreed to share her wisdom & experiences with the REACH community. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from an individ...
Applying the SMART Goals Framework to Your Work as an Executive Assistant
February 13, 2023 15:40 - 51 minutes - 94.9 MBThis episode on goal setting was not only requested by our listeners, but it’s a timely one given we’re at the top of a new year and hopefully full of inspiration and motivation to achieve some great things in 2023! Today we’ll be discussing some of the material covered in our "Becoming a Chief of Staff" e-course, specifically how to apply the SMART goals framework to your work as an Executive Assistant. This episode is full of practical content that you won't want to miss! If you’ve been ...
Behind the Scenes: What It’s Like to Support Husband & Wife Lifestyle Influencer Duo
December 19, 2022 16:01 - 36 minutes - 66.4 MBWe’ve had a wide range of Executive Assistants on our program who support business owners, celebrities, government officials and even magicians, but never have we featured an EA who supports an influencer – until now! Katie Hobson is the Senior Executive Assistant to husband and wife team Michael & Lauryn Bosstick, lifestyle brand influencers, podcasters, business owners of Dear Media & The Skinny Confidential and hosts of the Him & Her podcast. Obviously, the world of influencing is a new a...
Serena Williams’ Former Assistant is the Definition of a “Swiss Army Knife” Professional: Learn About His Experiences & How He’s Incorporated All Aspects in the Executive Assistant Role
December 05, 2022 12:00 - 42 minutes - 77.8 MBDon't miss this episode featuring Grant Firestone, former Executive Assistant and Chief of Staff to Serena Williams! Grant's widely eclectic career spans everything from political operative, legislative aide in local government, high school coach, French student, lacrosse player, intern for the Global New York Times and currently, he supports the CEO of Lax International Airport on all things strategic initiatives, special projects and events. As someone who is so clearly capable and has suc...
Executive Assistant by Day and Soul Food Chef by Night
November 21, 2022 12:00 - 31 minutes - 58 MBWith Thanksgiving just a few days away, it's only fitting to release an episode all about FOOD! Cherie Barfield, Executive Assistant at Meta and Owner of Cherie’s Southern Kitchen, has been an EA for over 26 years and she most recently embarked on a new journey as a food entrepreneur, having launched her own soul food catering company. There is something so beautiful and inspiring about seeing someone go after their dreams and we promise you this is one of those feel-good stories that just m...
The Gaming Effect: Just What is Going on With These Lengthy Interview Processes?!
November 07, 2022 12:00 - 35 minutes - 64.3 MBYou’re probably wondering, why is this episode called “The Gaming Effect?” What does that even mean? Well, have you ever noticed how ordinarily sweet kids, while playing video games will shoot their enemies on rapid fire screaming die, die in this kind of vapid, dehumanized way? Or the mindless look that washes over their faces as they vigorously grip the controller pressing “fire” as quickly as they possibly can? We’re calling this ability to tune out and turn off your empathy “The Gaming E...
Debunking Stereotypes: How & Why Creative Minds Actually Thrive in the Executive Assistant Role
October 17, 2022 15:08 - 35 minutes - 64.8 MBIn this episode of REACH, our friend Campbell Ruggles, Executive Assistant to the CEO of Universe, joins us from Brooklyn, New York. Campbell is one of those people who gets up to speed quickly, makes an immediate impact, and does so in non-traditional ways which we'll unpack in this episode. A creative herself who used Universe’s platform to create a website to sell her own art, Campbell is someone who sort of stumbled into the Executive Assistant profession and has been incredibly successf...
How to Telescope Your Value and Build Good PR Across the Organization as an Executive Assistant
August 29, 2022 13:58 - 48 minutes - 89.4 MBIf you’re a regular REACH listener, you know we’ve spent a lot of time discussing how to gain buy-in from your executive, but what about everyone else you need information from and work with day-in and day-out? People like your executive’s direct reports, or Finance, or other C-Suite members. Kristine Valenzuela, Executive Assistant to the Head of Engineering at Atlassian, has graciously offered to tackle this topic and share her tips for how to telescope your value beyond just your executiv...
How to Elevate Your Role as an Executive Assistant Within Venture Capital
August 01, 2022 15:15 - 43 minutes - 78.8 MBWe invited Rachel Coffman, Operations Manager within Susa Ventures, to the program to be the spokesperson of Venture Capital. If you’re a loyal listener of REACH (and we hope you are!) you know we’ve featured several Executive Assistants who support the movers and shakers of the tech world, so we wanted to give the Venture Capital industry some love. In this episode, we address questions like 1.) How can you take ownership of your role and drive your destiny as an Executive Assistant in Vent...
Tips and Tricks for Executive Assistants Planning Travel in a ”Post-COVID” Environment
July 18, 2022 15:04 - 24 minutes - 44.1 MBIn this episode, we talk about all things travel coordination in a "post-pandemic" world. Courtney Puckett, Senior Executive Assistant to the CEO of Crunchbase, does quite a bit of traveling in her role and of course she’s the brains behind booking any trip, conference, or event for her CEO, and in cases like planning an SKO, she’s the one executing travel arrangements for all attendees. Clearly travel as we know it has changed now that we have COVID to contend with. There are weighty fee...
The Dynamic Duo Behind Sara Blakely, Founder of Spanx: How an Executive Assistant and Personal Assistant Partner Together
June 27, 2022 15:06 - 50 minutes - 92.3 MBWe had the honor of speaking with the women behind the woman, referring to Executive Assistant, Kenya Graham & Personal Assistant Lisa Magazine, who together supported the one and only, iconic Sara Blakely, who is of course the legendary entrepreneur and founder of Spanx. In this episode, we hear how Kenya & Lisa worked together to provide holistic, continuous 360-degree support to Sara so she could ultimately show up as the effective leader and change-maker she is. It's hard for us to imagi...
Everything Executive Assistants Need to Know About Equity in an Offer
June 15, 2022 15:55 - 51 minutes - 95.1 MBIn this episode, Kevin Baker, VP of Team and Customer Success at Maven Recruiting Group, addresses all of your equity and stock options questions. If you’ve ever received an offer letter from a pre-IPO company and found yourself positively stumped trying to wrap your head around what exactly was being offered, you wouldn’t be the first or the last! The purpose of this episode is to help you navigate through the quagmire of legal-ese and esoteric terminology to help you feel better prepared t...
How Your Executive May Be Affected by The Great Resignation
May 09, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 119 MBFormer Executive Assistant-turned-Chief of Staff and current Executive Coach, Julia Quijano, tackles the popular topic and trending hashtag, The Great Resignation and in particular, how she’s seen this movement affect executives and leaders of companies. We often forget that our leaders are also part of the equation! In sharing this perspective, we hope you will be better equipped to relate to your executives and adjust your support, as they are also navigating similar questions during these...
Getting What You Deserve: How to Negotiate like a Boss
April 25, 2022 14:43 - 46 minutes - 85.3 MBWe get it, any conversation around money likely makes you want to crawl under the table and avoid it all together. We've asked Cynthia Gildea, an Executive and Personal Assistant who has supported a wide-range of executives and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, to teach you everything you need to know about salary negotiation, especially as a female Executive Assistant.
REACH Roundtable: The Great Resignation
April 11, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 113 MBIf you weren't able join us for our third REACH Roundtable Livestream, we missed you, but we captured the audio for you to listen to here. For those who aren't familiar, REACH Roundtable is an extension of our podcast where we invite former guests back to discuss all things hot topics in the Executive Assistant world. In this episode, you’ll hear from the guests you know and love, Lauren Pelusi, Rowe Hoffer, LJ Cohen, and Kristin Beatham as they discuss The Great Resignation, a trend perhaps...
Tackling the Title Debate: Is Job Title a Deal Breaker for Your Career and Identity as a Support Professional?
March 21, 2022 11:00 - 36 minutes - 66.6 MBIn this episode, we are joined by Carrie Zimney, former Executive Assistant to the COO, Private Office of Bill Gates Ventures! Carrie brings up the oh so debated title discussion, a sensitive and weighty topic for many support professionals. There's no denying the ways in which the executive support role has evolved over the years since its original "Secretary" days. Today we continue to witness various companies adopt titles such as Executive Business Partner, Chief of Staff, Senior Executi...
Behind the Scenes: What It’s Like to Be an Executive Assistant in the Entertainment Industry
February 07, 2022 12:00 - 38 minutes - 69.7 MBIf you’ve dreamed of supporting someone in Hollywood and you’re curious to hear what it’s really like, now's your opportunity! Jake Thomson, Executive Assistant to the CEO of Cosm, has supported several big names in the entertainment industry such as Heather Parry (Television & Film Producer best known for Pixels, The House Bunny & A Star is Born), Kelly Osbourne (actress & daughter of Ozzy & Sharon Osbourne) & Jenny Daly (another well-known TV producer) in both personal and executive suppor...
Expectations vs Reality of Supporting a Founder: Food for Thought from Former Executive Assistant to the Founder of Glossier
January 24, 2022 16:10 - 33 minutes - 62.1 MBIn this episode of REACH, Stacy DeRosa, former Executive Assistant to the Founder and CEO of Glossier, Emily Weiss, discusses the difference between supporting a member of the C-Suite versus what it means to support the Founder of an organization. While it might seem like there wouldn’t be a ton of variance between the two, Stacy tells us otherwise. Great food for thought for those considering to take the leap from supporting a C-Level to supporting a Founder.
REACH Roundtable Playback: Finding Opportunities for Growth and Renewal within the Executive Assistant Role
January 10, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 111 MBIf you couldn’t join us for our second REACH Roundtable Livestream, here’s our playback. REACH Roundtable is an extension of our podcast where we invite former guests back to discuss all things hot topics in the Executive Assistant world. In this episode, you’ll hear from the guests you know and love, Lauren Pelusi, Rowe Hoffer, LJ Cohen, and Kristin Beatham as they share their unique perspectives staying engaged in their work as Executive Assistants and how they maintain their passion and ...
How the Executive Assistant Role Serves as a Great Training Ground for Roles Outside of Executive Support
December 06, 2021 16:17 - 38 minutes - 70.1 MBWhile we’re clearly huge advocates of the Executive Assistant career path, we also recognize that there are those whose inclinations and desires ultimately lead them away from that career and feel there is also value in talking about those guest stories. In this episode, we feature Tiffany Haughton’s story of going from Executive Assistant to the CEO of Poshmark to Growth Partnerships still within Poshmark! Tiffany’s roots as an EA go deep as she also supported the Founder & Creator of Andro...
How to Make Decisions on Behalf of Your Executive in the Absence of Information & Communication
November 22, 2021 12:00 - 37 minutes - 69.6 MBEllie Dunne, Executive Assistant to the Head of Global Security at Stripe, shares her tips and tricks for how to gather the context you need in order to confidently make decisions on your executive’s behalf and what that looks like in practice. Perhaps your executive never has the time to get you up to speed or lacks the communication style to provide you with the details... or maybe working from home has just made it all the more difficult to get your questions answered. Regardless, this is...
From Filing an S-1 to Ringing the Bell: The Role an Executive Assistant Plays in Taking a Company Public
November 08, 2021 12:00 - 36 minutes - 66.2 MBThere’s no denying the record of IPOs that have taken place on the US stock market this year and the flurry of organizations headed down that path next, so we decided it was time to dedicate an episode to the role an EA plays in taking a company public. We invited back former REACH guest Tanya Benvenuto, who played a significant role in Okta’s IPO back in 2017. At the center of it all, ringing the bell next to CEO, Todd McKinnon, Tanya lived and breathed this experience first-hand. In this e...
The High Stakes and Highly Personal World of Estate Management: Everything You Need to Know to Successfully Setup a Household
October 25, 2021 15:40 - 52 minutes - 96.6 MBWe’ve talked a lot about what it means to support an executive in the business realm, but less has been explored about what it takes to support an executive in the personal realm. We decided it was time to dedicate an entire episode to estate management, so we invited prominent Estate Manager & Personal Assistant, Alicia Myers, to discuss all things estate management and how to successfully set up a personal household. We touch on how to create a household manual and implement a seasonal mai...
Supporting a First-Time Founder: An Opportunity to Leave a Legacy as an Executive Assistant
October 12, 2021 16:49 - 32 minutes - 60.4 MBAngela Wiley, Executive Assistant to the SVP of Americas Sales and the SVP of Global Corporate Sales at Equinix, talks about her experience supporting newly minted leaders and executives who had never experienced support until Angela! In this episode, we discuss the typical areas that first-time founders need coaching or direction from their EAs and specifically, how Angela built both a thoughtful and meaningful partnership with her former executive at Inkling. When supporting a new executiv...
How to Effectively Support a “Difficult” Executive
September 28, 2021 15:20 - 47 minutes - 87.4 MBShelley Trask, Senior Executive Assistant to the CTO/Co-Founder of Slack and avid thought leader in the administrative community, joins us to tackle one of her favorite topics: How to Support a Difficult Executive. (And in case you were concerned, no, she's definitely not referring to her current exec!) Listen in as Shelley shares her strategies for how to get around said difficulty and how you can help coach your executive’s behavior & influence their habits or even draw the line when a sit...
Advice on Salary Negotiation, Performance Reviews & Mentorship from a Beloved EA Mentor
August 30, 2021 11:00 - 44 minutes - 81.6 MBIf you’re looking for advice on all things salary negotiation, performance reviews and mentorship, you’ve stumbled upon the right episode. Mentorship is something Senior Business Partner, Autumn Heard, is incredibly passionate about. She currently manages a team of three admins at Medallia but has helped mentor, train and develop many administrative professionals over the years. In this episode, Autumn mentors our community by sharing her tips for things like how to prepare for a performance...
REACH Roundtable Playback: Are Executive Assistants Returning to the Office?
August 11, 2021 11:00 - 1 hour - 113 MBIf you couldn’t join us for our first REACH Roundtable Livestream, we saved our audio playback for you. REACH Roundtable is an extension of our podcast where we invite former guests back to discuss all things hot topics in the Executive Assistant world. For our first Roundtable, we tackled the single-most relevant topic: “Returning to the Office.” In this episode, you’ll hear from the guests you know and love, Lauren Pelusi, Rowe Hoffer, LJ Cohen, and Kristin Beatham as they share their uniq...
REACH Roundtable Playback: Are Executive Assistants Returning to Office?
August 11, 2021 11:00 - 1 hour - 113 MBIf you couldn’t join us for our first REACH Roundtable Livestream, we saved our audio playback for you. REACH Roundtable is an extension of our podcast where we invite former guests back to discuss all things hot topics in the Executive Assistant world. For our first Roundtable, we tackled the single-most relevant topic: “Returning to the Office.” In this episode, you’ll hear from the guests you know and love, Lauren Pelusi, Rowe Hoffer, LJ Cohen, and Kristin Beatham as they share their uniq...
Perspective on the Chief of Staff Role: Attempting to Define an Ambiguous Position
July 26, 2021 11:00 - 39 minutes - 72.1 MBThe Chief of Staff topic isn’t going anywhere! In this episode we interview Jenna Miller, Chief of Staff at Betterworks to share her perspective on the CoS role. With all of the hype around this somewhat squishy and nuanced position, we’re making an effort to bring you the insight and perspective you’re looking for. Jenna talks about her recent promotion to Chief of Staff and the ways in which the Chief of Staff role differs from her experience as an Executive Assistant. She also unpacks her...
Part Two: Event Planning Advice from an Event Planning Expert
July 12, 2021 11:00 - 30 minutes - 55.9 MBThis is part-two of our two-part series with event planner extraordinaire Heather Keenan, President and CEO of Key Events. Heather and her firm have orchestrated events the likes of which have been attended by queens, US Presidents, celebrities and the A-list of the business world. If you missed part 1, definitely give it a listen (Season 1, episode 16) where Heather shared how Executive Assistants could pull off a successful virtual event. As in-person events resume, we wanted to bring He...
Everyone Around Me is in their 20s (Including My Boss): How Not to “Age Out” of Your EA Career
June 28, 2021 11:00 - 38 minutes - 70 MBYou’ve probably heard the term “seasoned” or perhaps even been labeled or felt as such. And in the Bay Area tech arena especially, it’s not uncommon to work alongside colleagues or even support executives who may be in their early 20s or 30s. So, we’ve decided to tackle the ambitious topic of what it means to age gracefully in your career as an Executive Assistant and, in particular, how you can avoid “aging out” of the EA career. Nicole Hawkins, Senior Manager of Administration at Patreon, ...
Life at a Crossroads: Reflecting on the Executive Assistant Career
June 14, 2021 11:00 - 41 minutes - 75.5 MBIn this episode, Mallory Drury, former Executive Assistant to the President and CEO of Marcus & Millichap, shares her personal experience of being at a crossroads and thinking through next steps in her career. After eight plus years as an Executive Assistant, she finds herself in a reflective state of mind as she tries to determine what’s next for her, whether that’s another Executive Assistant position or something completely different. Jessica tackles this conversation interview-style by a...
From Executive Assistant to Chief of Staff: What It Really Means to be a Chief of Staff
June 02, 2021 12:00 - 51 minutes - 94.7 MBThe topic you’ve all been waiting for! These days it feels like Chief of Staff and EA are used almost synonymously and with all the buzz around the Chief of Staff title, we decided to dive into what it actually means to be in this role, what the day-to-day of a Chief of Staff can look like, and how it differs from the EA role. In this episode, we explore why an Executive Assistant makes a great choice for a Chief of Staff. While there is no “one size fits all” definition of Chief of Staff,...
If There’s Anyone Who Knows How to Break a Glass Ceiling it’s Bumble’s Executive Assistant
May 18, 2021 12:00 - 38 minutes - 70.5 MBIf there’s anyone who knows how to break a glass ceiling it’s Lorena Legarreta, Executive Assistant to the President, CFO and CSO of Bumble. Today’s discussion promises to be an empowering one as we hear Lorena’s story. Growing up in Mexico, Lorena is a first-generation Latina who became an Executive Assistant sort of through happenstance because of her ability to speak Spanish and English fluently. She’s also been the first EA to many of the executives she’s supported throughout her career ...
From Red Carpet to Tech Startup: How Mandy King went from Journalist to Executive Assistant to the CEO of Box
May 03, 2021 12:00 - 31 minutes - 57.6 MBDid you know the Senior Executive Assistant to the CEO of Box started her career off in broadcast journalism at companies like CNN, NBCUniversal and Forbes? This episode is all about how Mandy King’s background in media influenced how she operates as an EA to CEO today. For those listening who also have work experience in a completely different field and may be wondering how to incorporate those skills into your current role as an EA or how to speak to the unique value your background lends ...