99.7% OF DELEGATES WOULD RECOMMEND ACEA^® TO A COLLEAGUE OR FRIEND

Hi Vicki

Please tell us a bit about yourself?

Thank you for asking me to do this interview.

I hold a NZ Diploma in Business Administration.  Throughout the last 20 years of my career I have been working for Chief Executives and / or Partners.  I am currently working for the Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer of Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand and have held this position since 2009. 

In my role, I am the Vice-Chancellor’s Executive Assistant where I provide high-level strategic management support, clerical and business assistance, plus direction and guidance to the VC to support the VC in the achievement of his strategic priorities and business goals and objectives. 

I joined the Association of Administrative Professionals of New Zealand (AAPNZ) Inc in 2007 after winning the 2017 AAPNZ Administrative Professional of the Year Award. 

I continue to be an active certified member of AAPNZ where I am currently the AAPNZ Wellington Group President and the AAPNZ National First Vice-President. 

I am working with the World Administrators Summit (WAS) Advisory Council on the Skills Set Taskforce.

I live in the suburbs of Upper Hutt, Wellington with my husband and our two dogs. I enjoy meeting new people and cultures.  I like to do handcrafts and exercise in my downtime. 

Where and when did you attend your ACEA® training and who delivered it?

 I attended ACEA® when it came to Sydney for the first time in 2018.

There are many training courses available for Executive Assistants. Why did you choose ACEA® in particular?

I have been following ACEA for a while as I am an active follower of Lucy Brazier’s Executive Secretary Live and Magazine.  ACEA was not yet in New Zealand, however, I was attending Executive Secretary Live in Sydney and discovered that the ACEA was in Sydney the week following ESLive.  I was extremely fortunate enough that my employer was happy for me to attend both training sessions.  Such high-level training is not available in New Zealand for Executive / Management Assistants. 

I believe think ACEA combines all the content that executive and management assistants need to have in their skillset especially as we talk more and more about operational and strategic skills.  ACEA is an outstanding course that left me exhausted from learning every day.  ACEA offers a safe learning platform that allows you to explore, learn and develop new networks with international peers. 

What were your favourite subjects covered and why?

People Management & Leadership and Project Management and Strategy were my favourite topics.

 People Management and Leadership – because I manage one / two administrators and manage the Vice-Chancellor’s (albiet – unwritten) office.

 Project Management and Strategy – because at the time of attending, I wanted to understand and to learn more strategically to work stronger and more effectively with the Vice-Chancellor in his strategic directions for the University. 

 In both these areas I wanted to be able to come away from the ACEA knowing how to implement my learnings to my fullest potential. 

 I am now helping with the Victoria University of Wellington Strategic Plan Refresh and managing another staff member, which without the training I would have felt overwhelmed and / or not confident to take on these extra tasks.

Has achieving ACEA® helped you personally or in your career?

ACEA is an internationally recognised certification, which helps with international professional recognition for the work we do. 

 As mentioned above, without this certification, I would not have had the confidence and knowledge to take on the extra strategic opportunity that has been offered to me. 

 Was

there anything in particular that you remember returning to the office with and implementing?

I came back to the office putting not so much “new processes” into place, but more new thinking and realigning my go to thought patterns; ie; understanding that multi-tasking for a modern EA is more about delivery on multiple tasks, being organised and being able to prioritise. 

 Recognising that when people say multi-tasking they really mean task switching. 

 Learning to say No as a sentence. 

 And really getting to grips with leadership vs management.  Leaders do the right things, managers do things right. 

Right now, as I write this, New Zealand has had its first ever terrorist attack which has put our country into great sadness and shock.  Our Prime Minister has shown not only NZ but the world what leadership truly is by simply “doing the right things”.

 If a friend or colleague asked you to convince them to attend ACEA® what would you say to them?

I have already convinced quite a few people from my network to join ACEA when it is here in New Zealand later this year. 

Thank you Vicki for your time. We look forward to seeing you at Executive Secretary Live and when ACEA comes to Welling in July 2019

Hi Diana, please tell us a bit about yourself?

Thank you for asking me to do this interview.

 I hold a Degree in International Administration and Management, specializing in Office Management. Throughout my career, I have been working for C-Level Executives within global corporations such as Sony.  I also have a strong background in Communications and consider myself an active networker.

I joined the professional network IMA (International Management Assistants) in 2006, and have been serving IMA Germany as a Board Member and Regional Head of IMA Berlin. I continuously support the role of the management assistant by speaking at international events, coaching and mentoring admins around the world and publishing various articles in Germany and abroad.

I also write my own blog on Facebook called The Socialista Projects which is followed by management assistants from all over the world.

I live in the suburbs of Berlin with my husband and our little dog. I enjoy travelling and meeting new people and cultures.

2. Where and when did you attend your ACEA® training and who delivered it?

 I attended the class in Dubai in October 2017. Ian Shipley was my trainer and I enjoyed how he delivered the course.

What a joy it was meeting him again in Germany last year at ACEA Berlin.

3. There are many training courses available for Executive Assistants. Why did you choose ACEA in particular?

I have been following ACEA for a while as I am an active reader of Executive Secretary Magazine and the communication around it on Social Media. But then the unexpected happened: I won the place as the 1000^thdelegate. I still remember when Christian Russell called me. First, I thought it was a fake call – I simply did not believe how lucky I was. But it was for real and I got to decide which location I will go to for the course.

What a treat!

I think ACEA combines all the content that management assistants need to have in their skillset especially as we talk more and more about operational and strategic skills. ACEA offers a wonderful platform to deep dive into these topics and in parallel network and meet your peers.

4. What were your favourite subjects covered and why?

People Management & Leadership was my favourite topic. At that time, I was leading a team of three Office Managers and was keen to implement all my take aways in my daily work with them. And I did right away which felt wonderful.

5. Has achieving ACEA® helped you personally or in your career?

ACEA is a wonderful certification and it helps you getting recognized in the international environment of our admin industry. I can get many certifications in Germany that are only valid in Germany – ACEA is international and so is the reputation.

” alt=”” aria-hidden=”true” />

Diana receiving her 1000th ACEA certificate from

Richard Arnott at Executive Secretary Live in the Watergate Hotel, Washington D.C.

6. Was there anything in particular that you remember returning to the office with and implementing?

I actually came back organizing a team building workshop and created a strategy discussion with my team of three Office Managers which helped us forming our vision, mission and mantra. It was a lot of fun and the output I got from ACEA helped me to prepare this properly.

7. If a friend or colleague asked you to convince them to attend ACEA® what would you say to them?

I have already convinced quite a few people from my network to join ACEA and even helped bringing a class to Berlin in 2018. Thanks again to Richard and the team for even asking me to come to the training in Berlin and talk about my story as an alumnus. I really enjoyed meeting the group. Another German EA from my network will take the class this year in London, so ACEA is all over my network which is fantastic.

 The ACEA training was very inspirational, energising, bringing lots of ideas, with both substantial and in-depth knowledge together with case studies, learning from experience and being fully practice-oriented. Well-balanced composition of participants, which contributed to interesting and focused discussions and exchanges. There was also room for networking and getting to know the group better during breaks and lunch. Thank you to everyone involved and for making me feel special as the 1000th student.

Our thanks to Diana for taking the time to respond to our questions.

1. Hi Breda, tell us a bit about yourself?

At Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group, I serve as the Vice President of Administration, Executive Assistant to the CEO. In my role, I am the CEO’s strategic partner who communicates on his behalf, the liaison to the Board of Directors, a member of the Leadership Team, and lead a team of two assistants. I also have two direct reports (Meetings & Travel Coordinator and Receptionist).

I live in Dallas, Texas with my sweet dog, Eve (Terrier Mix). I am a fierce Dallas Cowboys fan who enjoys cooking, traveling and watching classic movies.

2. Where and when did you attend your ACEA® training and who delivered it?

I attended ACEA® at the Watergate Hotel in Washington DC in November 2017. ACEA® was running alongside the fabulous Executive Secretary Live. The trainer was Richard Arnott.

3. There are many training courses available for Executive Assistants. Why did you choose ACEA® in particular?

I learned about ACEA® from Bonnie Low-Kramen. I chose to take the ACEA® course because it was teaching me to be a strategic business partner to my manager. The substantive topics included change management, risk management, presentation, and understanding financial reports (which was an important topic for me). My career goal was to become Chief of Staff and I believed that this course would help me to understand business, not only how to be a more efficient assistant.

After reading the course objectives and reviews, my expectations for ACEA® were high. I must say that after completing the week-long course, Richard EXCEEDED my expectations. The class was energetic, interactive, safe, and, dare I say, fun. It was wonderful meeting people from all over the world! (I think our class was one the first ones* held in the U. S. at the time.)

4. What were your favourite subjects covered and why?

My favorite subjects were Project Management and Strategy. Project Management because I learned every step of managing a project and discovered that we should ask “Is this the right thing to do?” which I did not think we could do. I constantly ask that question now.

Strategy was another favorite because I learned how strategy is formed and planned. It totally changed my mindset.

5. Has achieving ACEA® helped you personally or in your career?

I believe that that ACEA® has made a huge impact in my career. My comprehension of what happens in my company has skyrocketed! My confidence has increased because of the knowledge I gained and improved my business communication, too. In December 2018, I was promoted to Vice President, Administration, Executive Assistant to the CEO.

6. Was there anything in particular that you remember returning to the office with and implementing?

Yes! While in class discussing project management, I discovered the “one sheeter” we were using at the office was a charter. I requested that the name be changed, provided the reason why and the requested was granted. I also understand our financials better. This was a huge win for me.

7. If a friend or colleague asked you to convince them to attend ACEA® what would you say to them?

A colleague did ask me about ACEA® and she attended at my recommendation. I told her that the ACEA® course was like no other professional seminar that she has attended. I shared with her what I learned and told her about the substantive topics from finance to communication to leadership. I told her she had to go and that it was worth every second of her time and worth the cost. She attended the course in Austin and loved it!

* ACEA® has run in the USA since 2015 in New York (x2), Chicago, Austin (TX), Silicon Valley and on-site for selected clients.

Hi Kim,

Please tell us a bit about yourself?

I am a Senior Executive Assistant for Booz Allen Hamilton, INC in the Washington DC area. I have been with the firm for 12 years and have been an EA for almost 20 years. My current executive leads the Transportation and Infrastructure business within the firm. I am engaged in our business at all levels from reporting to presentations to actively launching projects that are priorities for our group. I live in Maryland with my husband and we have 2 grown children.

Where and when did you attend your ACEA® training and who delivered it?

I attended ACEA in New York in 2015 and the course was delivered by Richard Arnott

There are many training courses available for Executive Assistants. Why did you choose ACEA® in particular?

I was impressed with the course description when I read it. Most training courses for EAs tend to be focused on time management, Outlook skills, gatekeeping, etc. I really found a tremendous amount of value in the critical thinking skills the sessions required, along with the shaping around vision versus mission within an organization.

What were your favourite subjects covered and why?

My favorite subjects were Aligning Operations to Strategy and Exploring linkages between strategy, project and operations. Both of these covered areas that the EAs are generally not included in within an organization. The scope of strategy within any major establishment is vast but having this explained on a more general level, I was able to go back to my Executive and discuss what our overall strategy is, how to align our projects to that strategy and how it fits into our business as a whole.

Has achieving ACEA® helped you personally or in your career?

My Vice President constantly refers to me as his “game-changer” and “force multiplier”. I believe this is a direct result of ACEA – the training and the exam. It has opened my thinking up to a broader understanding of my role within the business and helped me to see myself as a Strategic Partner rather than an Assistant.

Was there anything in particular that you remember returning to the office with and implementing?

Honestly, all of the strategic partnership thinking! It has changed how my Vice President and I work together.

If a friend or colleague asked you to convince them to attend ACEA® what would you say to them?

I have often recommended ACEA to my colleagues. In fact, we have scheduled multiple sessions internal to Booz Allen only! When the announcements come out and interested staff reach to me for information, I always tell them that it’s the best EA training I’ve ever been through, because it doesn’t focus on your role as an EA. It focuses on your role as a Strategic Partner to your Executive. A real force in the business.

Hi Marcela,

Please tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Marcela Brito and I am a Brazilian executive assistant. Currently I live in Brasília, Federal District, Brazil. Here I work at Brazilian Agriculture Research Corporation.

My main role is to assist the Innovation and Technology Executive Board. My responsibilities involve managing the agenda, planning the work trips, scheduling meetings in and outside the company and to become the relationship with partners easier.

I am married for seven years with an executive assistant, Victor Brito, and we have a daughter, Elisa. She is six years old and is too smart. In addition my professional experience, my husband and I own a little business. We help people and companies to achieve better results and perform in a highest level through mentoring and short trainings. We offer professional education based on customer service, business etiquette and office management.

As a hobby I also own a blog for ten years where I write about how to be a better professional, how to handle with difficulties in workplace and how to share the workplace with peers and bosses think different from us.

Finally, in 2015 I published my first book, named “Intercultural secretariat: how to help companies and professionals in business abroad”.

Where and when did you attend your ACEA® training and who delivered it?

I attended my ACEA in São Paulo, Brazil, from 10 to 14 June, 2019.  Richard Arnott was our instructor in this training.

There are many training courses available for Executive Assistants. Why did you choose ACEA® in particular?

Actually we were demanded by our boss (my colleague and I) to find out a strategic course to improve our professional performance. In Brazil we have many courses and trainings for executive assistant, however, none could effectively boost us to achieve better results in our routine. Then, my colleague Tatiana already knew this training because her sister attended one year before in the United Kingdom. ACEA presents all contents are really important to perform as a manager, as a real advisor for our boss. Subjects as Project Management, Communication Skills and Financial management are mandatory for the modern executive assistant. For our surprise this training was announced to happen in Brazil this year. So, we met with our boss to show him the content and to convince him to allow we both to attend the training. He accepted and there we went!

What were your favourite subjects covered and why?

In this training my favourite subjects were time management, Communication skills, profile assessment D.I.S.C., project management and the abilities around the modern executive assistant profile.

Has achieving ACEA® helped you personally or in your career?

ACEA has expanded my vision about myself and how I could manage my knowledge to become a better executive assistant and to deliver more results than I was demanded for. In my personal life and experiences ACEA allowed me to meet people I just followed in social media as Taís Fagundes, who was the key person to defend ACEA promotion in Brazil. This was one of the best experiences I have ever had in my whole professional life!

Was there anything in particular that you remember returning to the office with and implementing?

My relationship with my peers and boss improved immediately because I came back to the office understanding people’s different ways to think, act and make an important decision. From this comprehension moment, I have changed my behaviour when I have to report my work for each person in my team.

If a friend or colleague asked you to convince them to attend ACEA® what would you say to them?

After achieving ACEA® many people in my network asked me about this experience. And always as possible I share my learning in this training, the way I overcame my limitations and fears with the foreign language and how I became a more rational and assertive professional. In addition, ACEA became possible to access a knowledge which helped me to  think ahead in comparison with other people where I work and where I live. ACEA really changed the way I do my work and the way I see people around me. I am so grateful for this opportunity!

Please Tell us a bit about yourself? / Conte-nos um pouco sobre você?

I’m Taís Fagundes, Trilingual Executive Assistant expert in communication and multicultural approach. I work as an Executive Assessor at AGCO South America, global leader in agricultural equipment supporting Manufacturing Vice-President and Operations Director and their teams. I’m located in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil.

Eu sou Taís Fagundes, Secretária Executiva Trilíngue expert em comunicação e multiculturalidade. Atuo como Assessora Executiva na AGCO América do Sul, multinacional líder global em equipamentos agrícolas, assessorando o Vice-Presidente de Manufatura, o Diretor de Operações e seus times. Estou alocada na operação de Canoas, estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.

Where and when did you attend your ACEA® training and who delivered it? / Onde e quando você participou do treinamento da ACEA® e quem o ministrou?

I did ACEA® training in São Paulo, Brazil (June’19). The trainer was Richard Arnott.

Fiz o treinamento ACEA® em São Paulo, Brasil (Junho/2019). O ministrante foi Richard Arnott

There are many training courses available for Executive Assistants. Why did you choose ACEA® in particular? / Existem muitos treinamento disponíveis para assistentes executivos. Por que você escolheu o ACEA® em particular?

I read about the certification in Lucy Brazier website 5 years ago. Happily, in 2019 was the first edition in Brazil and it was outstanding! ACEA® is a unique training that was made by an executive view. I’ve never saw any other training for Executive Assistant that was based on executive expectations. The contents are very high level and updated for business needs.

Eu li sobre a certificação no site da Lucy Brazier há 5 anos atrás. Felizmente, em 2019 ocorreu a primeira edição no Brasil e foi maravilhoso! ACEA® é um treinamento único feito por meio da visão do executivo. Nunca vi nenhum outro treinamento para o Assistente Executivo que tivesse como base as expectativas do executivo. O conteúdo é atual e de alto nível para as necessidades dos negócios.

What were your favourite subjects covered and why? / Quais foram os seus assuntos favoritos abordados e por quê?

Project Management and methodologies is a dense topic, but very important. This overview helps to understand what passes with the executives and what are theirs tasks and deliveries. Knowing that, I can help support him in the best way possible.

Gerenciamento de projetos e metodologias é um tópico denso, porém muito importante. Essa visão geral ajuda a entender o que acontece com os executivos e quais são suas tarefas e entregas. Sabendo disso, posso ajudar a apoiá-lo da melhor maneira possível.

Has achieving ACEA® helped you personally or in your career? / Obter a certificação ACEA® ajudou você pessoalmente ou em sua carreira?

Yes, it helps. The DISC that we did in course is one example. As an EA we have to know ourselves and how we are going to react in some circumstances and also understanding the executive. Focus to keep a healthy environment on routine without burnout.

Sim, com certeza ajudou. Um exemplo é o DISC que fizemos no curso. Como profissional de Secretariado, temos que nos conhecer e saber como vamos reagir em algumas circunstâncias e também entender o executivo. O foco está em manter uma rotina e ambiente saudável, sem burnout.

Was there anything in particular that you remember returning to the office with and implementing? / Houve algo em particular que você lembra de voltar ao escritório e implementar?

Many ideas from the topic ‘Performance goals/KPIs’ brought up. It is a challenge to measure the office routines sometimes, but with the rates and examples that we share in the group, more options appears.

Muitas ideias de metas de ‘Performance/KPIs’ foram apresentadas. Às vezes, é um desafio mensurar as rotinas do escritório, mas com os exemplos e formas que compartilhamos no grupo mais opções apareceram.

If a friend or colleague asked you to convince them to attend ACEA® what would you say to them? / Se um amigo ou colega lhe pedisse para convencê-lo a participar do ACEA®, o que você diria a eles?

The Certification opens new possibilities and ideas. ACEA® give me ‘tools’ to bring innovation to the office. Other important point was the cases and information that weshare as a group. This shows us some differences and singularities in business (how some things work in an industry that it is possible to apply in a service company, for instance). And also an opportunity of a multicultural approach having a native from english language trainer.

A certificação internacional abre novas possibilidades e ideias. ACEA® fornece ‘ferramentas’ para trazer inovação ao escritório. Outro ponto importante foram os estudos de casos e as informações que compartilhamos como um grupo. Isso nos mostrou algumas diferenças e singularidades que cada segmento de negócio tem (comparações entre indústria e serviço, público e privado, etc.). E também uma oportunidade de abordagem multicultural com um instrutor nativo do idioma inglês.

Hi Umair, please tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Umair Ahmed Khan and I am from Pakistan. l am an MBA holder having extensive experience of executive assistance and secretarial support. Professionally oriented, a relationship builder, capable of designing and implementing strategic, corporate, administrative & financial plans & programs.

Proficient in establishing and maintaining effective working relations with top management & clients with ability to plan, analyze, organize and prioritize work effectively and interpersonal skills demonstration with experience of work in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and full respect for diversity.

Currently I am working as Executive Secretary – President & CEO Office in Saudi Electricity Company, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Where and when did you attend your ACEA® training and who delivered it?

I attended the Advanced Certificate for the Executive Assistant: ACEA® in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in May 2015. The course was delivered by Richard Arnott.

There are many training courses available for Executive Assistants. Why did you choose ACEA® in particular?

I choose ACEA® because it was especially designed to enable Executive Assistants, Executive Secretaries, Office Managers & other Office Professionals to realize their value & pivotal role in the organization. It provides relevance to the profession & the emerging roles which are required by the Executive Secretaries in today’s global environment. It also makes imperative that an Executive Secretary should have sufficient knowledge & understanding of the key fundamentals of Strategic Thinking.

I heard about ACEA through LinkedIn & I found it very interesting & knowledgeable.

The Course Outline, trainer & BMTG (Innoverto & Qualifi) profile makes me attracted to attend ACEA. My expectations before joining the course was very high because it was providing the same skills learning which I want to learn being an Executive Secretary for my career growth. “It was a great learning experience”.

What were your favourite subjects covered and why?

1. People Management & Leadership: It helps me to identify my leadership profile & how can I develop my strengths.
2. Emotional Intelligence: I came to know that how my behaviour was impacting others.
3. Communication & Conflict Management: Understanding communications, ability to influence, diversity, assumptions & stereotypes, listening skills, verbal & non-verbal communications.
4. Presentation & Reports Writing Skills: Learned how to work faster & efficiently in arranging meetings, making & giving presentations, reports writing & overcome nervousness.
5. Problem Solving & Multitasking: Learned how to differentiate & define various types of problems, develop selection criteria & evaluate alternatives, evaluate solutions & apply creative thinking techniques to solve problems.
6. Business Etiquette, Protocol & Diplomacy: Learned about cultural awareness, email protocols, telephone courtesies, cell phone etiquettes &use of social media.

Has achieving ACEA® helped you personally or in your career?

Indeed ACEA has made a huge difference to me both personally & professionally. Personally, it has given me the self-confidence, awareness & how to deal with people & how my behaviour is impaction them. Professionally, learned valuable lessons & tools that will be useful for a long time to come, I recognize my skills, I got greater confidence & it has open doors for me, as recently I have joined Saudi Electricity Company as Executive Secretary – President & CEO Office.

In the end I will say the course was “Brilliance beyond the imagination”.

Umair’s farewell Picture with VP of KIA Motors, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Was there anything in particular that you remember returning to the office with and implementing?

Yeah! in my previous employment, where I was working as Executive Secretary – CEO & VP Office in KIA Motors – M/s Aljabr Holdings, Dammam, KSA, I implemented Effective Communication & Conflict Management & the results were very positive, as now there is a proper system of communication to solve the conflicts in a quick time, as before I was taking long time to solve the problems because of lack of communication.

If a friend or colleague asked you to convince them to attend ACEA® what would you say to them?

I will say to them that being an Executive Secretary If you want career growth you should attend ACEA, it is very effective & interesting& the outline & the content of the course is very rich in knowledge. ACEA explains the correct path way of professional life.