Hanna Stacey | Rackspace
An Executive Assistant with 6+ years' experience in high growth, fast paced tech environments.
In addition to the standard job requirements of an EA I play Project Manager on multiple strategic projects that contribute to Rackspace’s overall EMEA objectives and targets. I am also functional champion for employee engagement, business partnering with HR to make sure we align to and continually improve our People Plan (this includes Hiring, retaining, cost planning, succession planning, developing and mentor programmes). In the absence of my current leader I am aligned to I am expected to lead from the front with his immediate team making sure to keep operational order and keep us on track, often being referred to as the 'glue' of the team.
I take great pride in coaching and enabling my team and am currently developing a new career and personal development strategy for the EMEA admin support team for 2019. In addition to this I work with female University Interns to build confidence and understand their forward career path.
My output, organisation and positive attitude to work has won me the accolade of finalist for employee of the month at Rackspace as well as nominee for employee of the year 2017.
In addition to this, this year I have set up a women in tech diversity group in the EMEA business, partnering with the global team in the US to create true global alignment and influence positive change for our business. This is something I am very passionate about.Outside of work I volunteer for New Leaf Project which commits to mentoring Young Offenders in the Thames Valley area.
Nikki Holland | PwC
After achieving my diploma in Office Studies at the age of 18, I was still unsure what kind of career I wanted and still had dreams of being an air stewardess or a model.
So being more realistic I applied for various office roles and was pleased to secure a job working for a direct marketing company booking the inserts into magazines. It was an interesting and exciting role but unfortunately after 18 months the company went into liquidation - not a great start my working life!
I was fortunate a find a new position working for a company called Digital Equipment, now known as Hewlett Packard. My position was a Sales Administrator which involved travelling the UK working on their stands at computer exhibitions. I stayed with the company for 8 years working my way up the ladder until I left to have my daughter Emily. After a 5 year career break and a move to Jersey I took a part time role at a local trust company in a secretarial role which enabled me to get back into the working environment and build up my confidence.
After 2 years I knew I was ready to get back into full time employment so took a position as PA to the CEO of Airtel-Vodafone. The company were newly established on the island so it was just me and the CEO in a rented office where we started to build the company from scratch. This gave me a useful introduction to recruiting staff, marketing, finance, and setting up an office and generally helped me develop the skills I now call on today. Two years later we were able to roll out the network to Channel Island paying customers, an achievement that still excites me to this day.
As a result of this successful venture, I was approached by several HNWI’s and because I always like a challenge, I accepted. I was sad to leave Airtel-Vodafone but after six years I knew it was time to take the next step on my career ladder.
Over the next two years I worked for two HNWI’s. Both roles were demanding but a challenge is something I have never shied away from. The roles were complex and involved coordinating meetings in various locations all over the world so I had to be super organised which of course I am! As much as I enjoyed the roles I still felt that there was something more to be achieved.
I was approached by a friend who advised me to apply for a role at PwC as PA to the Senior Territory Partner. At the interview I realised that this was a position that played to all my strengths and would allow me to develop further management responsibilities. Fortunately, PwC felt the same way and I joined the company in September 2014. The role, as I hoped, soon grew and enabled me to take on the added responsibility of managing the Secretaries/PAs, then in 2016 I was promoted to Office Services Manager/PA adding Facilities and Reception to the Office Services team.
As I have mentioned previously, I like a challenge and had noticed that Jersey didn’t have a network for the PA community so I decided to start one myself. I successfully launched The PA Network Jersey in July 2016 enabling 250 PA/EA/VA and office managers to meet and share their knowledge and experience on a regular basis. We have had some amazing speakers, training seminars and fun social events but the stand out event so far has been our International Women’s Day event in 2018 which PwC kindly sponsored. It was attended by over 150 people from all sectors of the community, the feedback was amazing so much so we are running it again this year where one of the topics up for discussion is how gender equality in the workplace benefits the economy, organisations and women themselves. The network ended 2018 on a high by being shortlisted for External PA Network of the Year at the Manchester PA Network awards in November which was great way to put Jersey and the Channel Islands firmly on the map.
I am proud to have had an extensive and varied career and look forward to the challenges to come.
Melissa Francis | Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Melissa began her career as a junior typist at Lloyds Bank before quickly gaining promotion to support the Branch Manager and moving on to the Area Director’s office.
Over time her role transitioned to that of a PA/Manager’s Assistant within commercial banking and after starting a family, Melissa progressed to roles within Share Registration, Single Company ISAs and eventually on to a Customer Service Team Leader role within the bank’s Cash ISA product.
Greatly missing her PA role, Melissa moved on for an enjoyable seven years at a Further Education college supporting senior leaders before taking up her current role within the NHS where Melissa is employed as a Senior Executive Assistant to the Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Chief Executive at Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Melissa splits her working week across three sites at two busy NHS Trusts and is a proud Staff Ambassador, part of a wider team who advocate improving the patient, staff and visitor experience. Melissa’s EA role brings great variety however; the added dimension of Staff Ambassador duties create many opportunities and Melissa enjoys facilitating at the annual Staff Conference and supporting colleagues at Trust events. This includes career open days where Melissa has previously supported applicants, coaching them through their candidate journey as they work towards a new admin or secretarial role. Placing great value in paying it forward, Melissa sees this as an investment in the future of the organisation.
Melissa has developed a passion for networking, building relationships and attending national learning events, championing continuous professional development. Setting herself mini challenges to refresh her journey of learning, Melissa has previously 'dipped her toes' in to the blogging pond writing for the Eventopedia UK, #ProudPA blog.
Melissa is a Fellow member of the Executive and Personal Assistants Association, a Fellow Member of The Institute of Administrative Management and an Associate Member of the CIPD.
Sarah-Jane Butler | Parental Choice
I am the founder of Parental Choice (www.parentalchoice.co.uk), a company dedicated to making a difference to parents through their employers.
In 2014, I was recognised by Brummell Magazine as one of the City’s Top Inspirational Entrepreneurs, whilst Parental Choice has been named in the top ten SMEs to work for by Working Families, short-listed three times for the SME Employer of the Year Award by Working Mums and shortlisted for the Relocate Awards 2018 in the Excellence in Employee and Family Support category.
A graduate of Bristol University, where I studied French and German, I became a lawyer, beginning my career in financial law at Linklaters. In 2004 I became an associate at Freshfields, a role which included secondment to the New York office and to the Real Estate Banking Group at Goldman Sachs. From 2007 until 2011, I was a senior associate at Berwin Leighton Paisner.
I retrained as an employment lawyer in 2011 and set up Parental Choice after the birth of my first daughter.
Aside from running the business since 2011, during this time I have also been / am
- a Trustee of the Family and Childcare Trust;
- consultant legal counsel for Allen Lane, a public sector recruitment company;
- non-executive director of the Association of Nanny Agencies;
- an affiliate member of the CIPD and a member of the CIPD Senior Policy Forum;
- a Changemaker supporting Working Families;
- a member of the Regulation Matters campaign working towards the regulation of domestic care in the home; and
- a fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.
I have been involved with Government consultations on childminder agencies as well as speaking publicly at Government policy briefings on topics such as “Bridging the Gender Equality Gap - The Future Role of Women” and the “Back to Work for Women” programme. I have attended several HR summits in my role as director of Parental Choice, including speaking at the Institute of Director’s “Women in Business” conference and appearing on panels on gender diversity in the workplace, I also present at law firms and corporates on family friendly benefits, childcare options and businesses’ family rights obligations at work including flexible working and shared parental leave reforms.
In October 2018, I opened our office in Hong Kong to extend Parental Choice's services across the APAC region as well as the UK and EMEA. Over 8 years, Parental Choice has developed successful collaborations with family focused businesses in a variety of sectors, including Law, Retail, Financial Services and Media, enabling employers to support parent professionals combine long-term careers with, amongst other services, childcare, well-being support and family global mobility support, making a real difference to their lives.
Emma Adie | Talbot Underwriting Ltd
After completing a degree in Microbiology I took the unlikely career choice to move into insurance, or so I thought.
As it turns out, my degree has benefited me greatly in managing a varying workload and thinking analytically. After a year working in an organ processing lab, I hung up my lab coat and moved to a brokers to begin learning the basics of insurance. Following this I worked at a smaller insurer for two and a half years, and then moved to Talbot where I felt I had a great opportunity to develop my compliance career. Since joining Talbot two years ago I have really enjoyed embracing responsibility as well as challenging the current way things are done, both in my day to day work tasks as well as the overall culture of the company.
As the Compliance business sponsor on the Brexit project, and attendee on the steering committee, I have worked on mapping out the overseas office process, coordinating with the reinsurance team to assess the impact and mapping procedures. A key aspect to the project was challenging processes that did not take into account the wider business impact. I also deal with all sanctions matters and am a go-to person for underwriters, claims staff and AIG’s sanctions team. It has been a challenging year with major changes in sanctions but I enjoy the pressure and fast pace nature that sanctions and financial crime issues bring.
I am passionate about work culture and mental health, organising Talbot’s first Wellbeing week last year. I nominated and am the main liaison for Talbot’s Charity of the Year CALM - Campaign Against Living Miserably (leading a movement against suicide, the single biggest killer of men under 45). This is an exciting 2 year relationship in which I will be organising quiz nights, running and challenge events, a football tournament and various raffles, all in aid of CALM. This has lead to me joining Talbot's Social and Community committees, in addition to becoming a founding member of the Wellbeing committee following completion of the mental health first aider course. I also volunteer for the Lloyd's Aim2attain workshops, helping secondary children with post education choices and educating primary school children of financial awareness and budgeting in the Tower Hamlets area. I have run two marathons for charity and will be running Brighton marathon in April for CALM.
Candy Hollingum | CBRE
Aged 33, I am currently an Operations Director at CBRE, leading the delivery of workplace services to a key customer across 15 countries in EMEA.
What does this mean? Well to me, personally it means balancing a huge sense of responsibility with an undeniable sense of satisfaction, knowing that the work that our teams deliver means that the 10,000+ people who occupy the buildings we run can focus on their core business and go home safely each day because of the work we do.
I came in to the Workplace/FM sector after graduating from Kings College with a degree in Modern Foreign Languages in 2010.
Graduating just after a recession meant I struggled to find work. Something that had never been the case before. I had been working since I was 15 – when (at already 6 foot tall) I concealed my age to get a job as an English teacher while living in Rio.
So, in August 2010 I accepted a job offer in Access Control working for a large FM company and the rest really is history. I have now been in the sector for 9 years, having spent the first half of my career doing every job going in FM from building security & access control, then front of house, moving through helpdesk, procurement, finance, waste and environmental management &training before I became a Workplace Manager.
It is the variety that hooked me back then and why I still enjoy what I do so much now.
It fascinates me how much work goes on behind the scenes to ensure spaces function seamlessly in the way they’re designed to be. I can never again walk in to any environment – be it an airport, restaurant, shop or even a church without noticing a light out or involuntarily ‘auditing’ their cleaning standards but above all how an environment makes me feel.
Who knew that an industry that I’d never heard about could’ve gotten under my skin like this?
I am now an active advocate of our sector and am passionate about making FM a career of choice. I try to share what I’ve learnt so far by mentoring and sponsoring a number of people in my field, as well as working with internal and external groups to increase diversity and encourage social mobility in our industry. Both areas that I am hugely passionate about.
All this in a sector that nobody has ever heard about, although I’m not quite sure how when it’s worth c.£120billion a year!
Emma Sagar | British Army
Originally from Yorkshire; I joined the Army in 1998, where I have specialised as a Counter Intelligence and Security practitioner, seeing active service throughout the world.
I am currently the Deputy Security and Vetting Officer for the Joint Intelligence Training Group. In my spare time, I am studying BSc (Hons) Risk & Security Management at Portsmouth University.
I am married to a fellow serving soldier. We have a three-year-old daughter, Seren. Our first child, Matthew, was born in 2010. He was a real blessing, but tragically when he was 18 months old, he was diagnosed with a rare neurological illness; Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 7. Due to the degenerative nature of Matthew’s illness, he required round the clock medical care and intervention. This put a tremendous amount of strain on me mentally and physically as I tried to strike a balance between the needs of the Army, (I was an instructor at the time), my terminally ill son and my husband.
Thankfully, the Army allowed me to take leave for 7 months to care for Matthew during the palliative care stages. This allowed me to ensure he had the best care possible whilst enhancing his quality of life, despite the limitations of his illness. In May 2013, Matthew peacefully passed away in my arms, just after his third birthday. During our time of nursing Matthew, we found a lack of timely support in several areas; from housing adaptations and the procurement of specialist medical equipment to palliative nursing care within the home environment. This inspired me to try and make a difference to other families in the same situation. By the 1st anniversary of Matthew’s death, I had launched the Matthew Seren Trust, in his memory. The primary aim of the trust is to support children and their families with life limiting or life changing illnesses and disabilities. We are a small family-run unregistered charity and we pride ourselves on the personal, bespoke and timely interaction we have with our benefactors. We understand that sometimes tomorrow is simply too far away. To date we have supported over 25 families; ranging from one off grants to the provision of a versatile made to measure wheelchair. We are currently working on a project in collaboration with the Liam Fairhurst Foundation to create a safe place in a garden for a four-year-old little girl with complex medical needs to play and have fun.
I am extremely passionate about ensuring that families that receive the diagnosis of a life limiting or life changing illness or disability are provided with the support they need in the early days following diagnosis. I actively seek out families,be it military or civilian, that have family members with life limiting or life changing illnesses or disabilities and either provide direct support through the Matthew Seren Trust or by sign posting them to the relevant charities or agencies that are best placed to support them.
I am living proof that you can have a demanding full-time career in the British Army, whilst being married to a serving soldier and being inspired to help others through the devasting loss of a child.
I subsequently underwent the gruelling regime of IVF/PGD to be blessed with our daughter Seren in 2015. My aim is to inspire women across defence to remain serving, despite the many curveballs life may throw at us, whilst raising a family in the armed forces.
I have recently been voted onto the executive board of the Chronic conditions and Disabilities in Defence (CanDiD) network as the Carers and Families Advocate. The network has been established to connect and support Service Personnel, dependants and veterans with, or caring for persons diagnosed with a life-changing or life limiting condition, impairment or disability. Supported by the Armed Forces Disability Champion, CanDiD will endeavour to meet the needs of member, dependants, the chain of command and management, whilst driving inclusive and positive cultural change in the work place. I feel immensely proud to be part of this ground-breaking initiative.
When I’m not studying or working or helping with the trust I am a keen equestrian woman and can often be found on horseback with my daughter Seren!
Roshni Marathe | Marks & Spencer
I am Roshni associated with Marks and Spencer for last 5 years, I had achieved a lot during the course of time.
I joined in 2012 to support financially to my family, i am having 2 Sisters & apart from my father i was the only one who started earning. Initially it was challenging to adjust in new culture but later on I started loving my job. The whole thought that we (Sales Advisor or Fashion Consultant) are always part of making moments special by suggesting right outfit to customer for a specific occasion always worked as fuel. I not only enjoy my job but also feel proud of the fact that i am helping customers to go with a smile on the face with right outfit.
Now I am married & having a child, I feel more responsible than ever because I not only look after my joint family at home but also working as Team Leader & delivering maximum Business of Lingerie Pan India for Marks and Spencer.
Today I feel happy to groom new girls/freshers & share my experience with them. I had few achievements also in last 5 years like winning Employee of the Month 3 times, Value Champion 4 times, Spotlight Champion 2 times but still I consider Customers Feedback & Zero Attrition in my team for last 14 months as biggest achievement.
Pavitra Chalam | CurleyStreet Media
Pavitra Chalam was a national-champion roller skater and athlete for over a decade before embarking on her journey as a filmmaker.
Pavitra represented India as a Peace Ambassador to Pakistan in 2003. As part of the Youth Initiative for Peace in Pakistan, she directed her first film ‘Bus’, a statement of peace between both countries. Pavitra traveled across Europe in 2004 as an Ambassador for a U.N project on social change and used film as a medium to ignite the minds of young people in France, Spain, Germany, UK. In Ireland she was recognized as a front-runner for film and sustainability.
She followed up these experiences with a formal Masters degree in film-making at the New York Film Academy. Her thesis ‘Anamika – Her Glorious Past’ was selected for the sixth IAAC Film Festival, 2006 in New York, received critical acclaim at the Indian Film Festival, Los Angeles, 2007 and had a special screening in Washington at the World Bank.
Pavitra founded CurleyStreet Media (CSM) in 2012, an award-winning film production house focused on candid and emotional storytelling. Over the years Pavitra has chosen to tell stories about the under-represented, the uncomfortable, the awkward and the complex nature of being human.
Virali Modi | Enable Travel
Miss Wheelchair India runner up 2014, Quora's Top Writer 2013-2017, Winner of Women's Achievement Award 2017 by DCW, Wheelchair bound disability rights activist, motivational speaker, model, actress.