PA Awards 2021: The Finalists

Craig Bryson is the Executive Assistant to the Regional Market Leader, EMEA, Global Industrial Market Partner at Korn Ferry. He is a prominent voice in the Personal Assistant and Executive Assistant profession, and a strategic high-level Executive Assistant, passionate about the modern-day role and the benefits it delivers to C- Suite Executives. Craig is described as an enabler of those around him, acting as a ‘force multiplier’ to ensure that the organisation is more than just the sum of the parts around him. “Losing him would be significant and present more of a challenge than the loss of many of our “executives”, for his knowledge and understanding of the architecture of our business is superb. Craig is highly respected by his peer group, and is seen as a natural leader. Individuals look to learn from him; and he does an excellent job in helping them succeed in our environment.”

Purvi Shah is an Executive Assistant with 8+ years behind her working across various industries from Wine to Media. She manages the Executives’ Office at PA Media Group, looking after the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Purvi is an accomplished EA who considers ‘going above and beyond’ a part of her DNA. Not only does she excel in her professional role, but she also find time to contribute articles to a medical publication, BioNews — Purvi has a bachelors degree in Biology!

Lisa Turner is an Executive Assistant at KPMG with over 14 years experience within the firm. Lisa is very clearly in the upper right quadrant of PA’s (high performance and high potential), and continues to deliver the service needed to keep the business running. Lisa mentors a lot of the PA’s and based on direct feedback, other partners are genuinely grateful when she gets involved as they know she will sort things out.

Emma Wilkinson supports the Chief Executive Officer, Senior Leadership Team and The Board of Conduit Capital (CCAP) partnering to provide key administrative, business and project support. Emma is passionate about mental health, openly sharing her experiences with her team and providing the space for others, ensuring that the business and team were provided access to the necessary tools to support their mental health.

Camilla English is the linchpin of Altus Partners. Winning huge cost-saving supplier negotiations, spearheading technological change, leading on internal and external projects all whilst managing a busy CEOs diary. Over the last 18 months Camilla has moved way beyond just supporting the Founder of Altus Partners, which was no easy task as the Founder runs three businesses. Camilla’s attitude is incredible, always positive and keen to help and add value wherever she is able and is adding impact across the whole business!

Chloe Lee is a Personal Assistant at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP. Chloe has excelled in her role despite having started just a month before lockdown. Shee is a helpful team player who goes above and beyong on all tasks. Always cheerful and keen to learn, Chloe is a valued member of the team — “I wish others were built this way!”

Hannah Kokogyi is an Executive Assistant to MD & CFO, UK&I, Experian PLC (FTSE100). A law graduate with an ambitious and robust career providing professional support across public and private sectors globally. Hannah has an attitude of “team first”, which permeates across everything she does. during the pandemic, Hannah was the first to inject fun into the team’s lives and make the best of a changing situation. “She is truly world-class in everything she does.”

Lynn Kiss is a Senior Executive Assistant with over 25 years experience. She has worked for Chief Executive Officers, Senior Vice Presidents and Directors, and in some instances has looked after several high-level managers simultaneously. In addition to maintaining her EA role Lynn has been assigned Team Leadership, Office Manager and Administrative roles for over 30 years. Lynn is also the Leader of the Thrive EMEA Disability Associate Council at Fiserv, an Ally and advocate of the UNITY LGBQT Leadership Council and is part of the D&I Training workstream where she host monthly Lookwhostalking D&I Bites sessions on many topics.

Sharon McGee is the Executive Assistant to Tradeweb’s Global Head of Corporate Development. Among Tradeweb’s 900+ employees around the world, Sharon is one of only ~20 with 20+ years of service, and the longest serving employee in our London office. She’s adapted and grown with the company and is extremely good at her job, always professional, diligent and detailed – understanding priorities and what can be juggled, while always being upbeat and a pleasure to work with. Sharon is a founding member and driver behind Tradeweb Cares, our community service and philanthropic initiatives, and is directly involved in supporting charities such as Dreams Come True and CRIS. She’s also both a physical and mental health first aider, and uses her reflexology skills to help colleagues address their wellbeing.

Emma WIlliams is the Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive at KPMG. She has over 30 years experience in professional services and is extremely hardworking. She is a joy to work with and a credit to the organisation. Emma is always going the extra mile for everyone in the firm, alongside her very busy role she mentors other EA’s in the firm.

Sabrina Beatan is an Executive Assistant at McKinsey & Company. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Events Management from Edinburgh Napier University and has been an Executive Assistant in London for the last six years. Sabrina is responsible for coordinating virtual meetups for colleagues and clients that helped keep morale high during the pandemic.

Michaela Collins is an Executive PA at Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation. Michaela was very active during the pandemic and lock downs, providing information and holding events to support the team’s mental health. As we transitioned into new ways of work, she embraced change, helping the team to move and settle into OPDC’s new office environment. As part of this she has taken on additional tasks such as Office Management and Health & Safety coordination to successfully implement our new hybrid ways of working. Additionally, she is not only the Co-Chair of the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) Women’s Network but also OPDC’s Women’s Leads.

Victoria Heales has over a decade of experience managing multi-disciplinary projects as a Virtual Assistant, Executive Assistant, Project, and Programme Manager. Her clients remark on her ability to calmly navigate complex challenges and act as a trusted business partner. Victoria has significant experience managing complex and time sensitive projects.

Grace Taylor is the Executive Assistant to the CEO of London City Airport. She has over seven years’ experience providing executive support to CEOs across a range of industries, including asset management, recruitment and aviation. As an economics graduate, she thrives on being a true business assistant and is passionate about adding value to the people and organisation she works for. At London City Airport Grace has shown great initiative working with our Health and Safety team to identify and plan the safe return of employees to our airport offices, living one of our key values (safe and well). This drive has created a safe working environment where employees can feel confident in the workplace and we have already seen a number return to a hybrid working format because of that assurance.

Odilia is an Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer at BlueBay Asset Management. She started her first Executive Assistant role in 1991. She is a great team player that has facilitated her workplace connections during the last 18 months by hosting monthly PA meetings and promoting close collaborations across all teams. Her positive can-do attitude makes her a pleasure to work with.

Ann-Marie is currently an Executive Assistant at The LEGO Company. Her positive and proactive approach shaped how PRS for Music navigated the pandemic by transforming her role into supporting not just her Executive, but also the wider organisation to bolser the wellbeing and resilience of all staff. As part of the ‘return to the office’ taskforce, Ann-Marie designed, launched, and analysed a survey that informed numerous company decisions and instigated initiatives to support employee wellbeing.

Sabrina is an Administrative Coordinator and has been working for Moody’s Investment Service Limited for more than 12 years. During the pandemic, Sabrina kept the office morale high with regular newsletters and uplifting quotes of the day. She is always positive and makes time to help with Moody’s MINDS, their employee resource group for people who struggle with mental health issues.

Stacey Nicolson is the Personal Assistant to Group Chief Financial Officer at Brit Insurance. Stacey spent over 20 years in the retail sector before moving to financial services. Stacey is described as being a true inspiration with an infectious personality, who through a deeply challenging period was able to support her colleagues — not only with their workload, but also by supplying tools and resrouces to better manage the new work-life balance. Stacey always carries every duty, request or task with highest standard of professionalism and always delivered with a positive demeanour.

Debra is an Executive Assistant at Save the Children UK. She enjoys coaching, motivating, and mentoring other Executive Assistants and Personal Assistants. At the beginning of April 2020, she set up a video chat for the members of the Executive and Personal Assistants Association to see how everyone was doing. As a community, the PA/EAs were able to find their voice, gained confidence and self-belief, and, through chatting with other members, better understand the value they add and bring to their roles as well as the wider profession.

Rachel is a Senior Executive Assistant at World Wide Technology. She is the heart of World Wide Technology’s culture. Her natural enthusiasm and positivity helps to drive a number of the company’s cultural initiatives, including managing a series of virtual learning events during the pandemic to bring colleagues together with a focus on mental health support. She leads our charitable events, organising relays for a children’s hospice, and volunteering at a soup kitchen.

Dee is an Executive Assistant to the CFO and Group HRD at Aggreko Limited. She has a wide range of UK and international experience and holds a postgrad in Events Management. The last 12 months have been a turbulent time at Aggreko with a takeover, refinancing and a restructuring of the finance function. During this time, Dee has not only taken on supporting the Group Human Resource Director in addition to her support for the Chief Financial Officer, but she has managing to keep on top of everything during such a huge change and always with a warm, kind and resourceful manner.