Executive Assistant Perth Congress

Congress Day One – 29 May 2024

08.30    Registration

09.00     Chair’s opening remarks

09.10     Creating better time management for your Executive Assistant and Executive partnership

  • Creating strategies to making more time in your day
  • Managing your Executive’s time to focus on strategic goals
  • Making time for you and your Executive to plan short- and long-term goals
  • Diverting distractions to minimise disruption in your day

Michelle Wright, Private Secretary to the Governor of Western Australia, Government House

09.55     Leveraging networking opportunities to strengthen your organisational value

  • Moving outside your comfort zone to broaden your circle of contacts
  • Developing engaging conversation openers
  • Cultivating contacts once made
  • Deepening connections in the work world by maintaining contact

Justin Barnes, Director and Founder, Rocket Launcher/Perth Networking Club

10.55     Morning Tea

11.25     Improving the Executive Assistant/Executive team by building a better relationship

  • Identifying the Top 5 qualities in Executive Assistants and Executives that promote productivity
  • Defining effective strategic relationships to develop a great partnership
  • Learning how to manage self and your Executive on days when stress takes hold
  • Approaching communication as a two-way street

Duncan Olde, Chief Financial Officer, Town of Victoria Park

Natalie Cameron, Executive Assistant to the Chief Financial Officer, Town of Victoria Park

12.10     Delegating responsibilities to benefit everyone

  • Delegating simpler tasks creates time for focus on major projects
  • Providing clear instructions when passing on tasks
  • Recognising that delegation does not confer accountability
  • Mentoring to create opportunities to delegate

Angie Draca, Time and Productivity Expert, PEPworldwide

12.55     Lunch

13.55     Translating Executive Assistant skills into project management to move upwards or across in your career

  • Creating efficiencies through coordination and multitasking
  • Remaining adaptable, agile, calm, effective to achieve results
  • Maintaining document management systems and being detail-oriented to maintain control
  • Tracking progress to monitor team performance, assess data and metrics, and adjusting when required

Liz Clarson, Senior Engagement Lead, Astryx

14.40     Working with your Executive as a strategic partner

  • Building great rapport with your Executive or stakeholders cultivates good relationships to support your strategic partnership
  • Tracking progress, collaborating with project teams, and providing insight to your Executive as a strategic partner
  • Being succinct, clear, and becoming a sounding board enhances communication with your strategic partner
  • Knowing the business to anticipate problems and solutions that arise

Leeane Alfano, Executive Assistant to the President, The State School Teachers’ Union of W.A.

Briony Sefton, Senior Executive Officer, Office of the Director General, Department of Finance

Marnie Mowatt, Executive Assistant to the CEO, Office of the Auditor General WA

Rachel Korziuk, Executive Assistant to the President, APAC/Africa, Ausenco

15.25     Afternoon Tea

15.55     Aligning your mindset with your Senior Executive to strengthen your strategic partnership

  • Unpacking what is required within your strategic partnership
  • Listing the skills, experiences, and values that Senior Executives seek
  • Communicating effectively to foster a great working relationship
  • Using your social skills to be CEO’s strongest ambassador
  • Implementing effective and practical decision-making

Jamie Blanchard, Governance Manager, City of Stirling (Western Australia)

Sophie Woodley, Director, Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety

John Broons, Family Business Advisor, John Broons Advisory

Donna Bates, Founder and Managing Director, Donna Bates Strategic Consulting

16.40     Networking Drinks

 

Congress Day Two – 30 May 2024

09.10     Future-proofing the Executive Assistant role with emerging technology

  • Understanding Artificial intelligence: Friend or foe?
  • Harnessing the power of ChatGPT to work effectively and avoid the pitfalls
  • Mastering AI: Staying relevant as an Executive Assistant in the world of ChatGPT
  • Enhancing your value as an Executive Assistant by keeping your skills relevant

Wally Khalid, Director and Co-Founder, Bloom AI 

09.55     Practising assertiveness as an Executive Assistant

  • Winning friends and influencing people by being firm but fair
  • Being proactive, not reactive in situations requiring assertiveness
  • Using your role to lead to demonstrate purpose
  • Influencing without perceived positional authority

Katrena Friel, Speaker, Mentor, Coach, and Founder, Refresh Your Thinking

10.40     Morning Tea

11.10     Identifying learning and development opportunities to grow in your career

  • Understanding your strengths and passions and how you can align them to develop a rewarding career path
  • Recognising and taking advantage of opportunities to use your initiative to broaden your experience
  • Demonstrating curiosity and commitment through continuing professional development and informal learning
  • Setting a course for success by formulating KPIs that work for you and Executives to ensure continued growth

Sue McComasky, Executive Assistant to Ashley Wright, Chief Executive Officer and Sheldon Krahe, General Manager – Western Australia Region, GHD

11.55     Manage your time, focus and technology to get more done

  • Mastering automation for routine tasks
  • Integrating key applications like Outlook, OneNote, and Teams for seamless workflow
  • Employing shortcuts for increased efficiency
  • The power of digital notetaking
  • Applying effective techniques to boost concentration at critical moments

Mario Halouvas, CEO and Founder, Mario Halouvas Productivity Professionals

12.40     Lunch

13.40     Developing resilience strategies to manage health and wellbeing

  • Building trust to enhance confidential discussions with your Executive
  • Achieving balance in the face of emergencies
  • Fostering support networks away from work
  • Slowing your mind to manage stress, anxiety and burnout

Rebecca (Bex) Smith, Change Consultant, Speaker, Trainer, Cheerleader for Change

14.25     Modelling the future Executive Assistant

  • Comparing what the modern-day Executive Assistant brings to the table versus the traditional Executive Assistant
  • Generating the capacity to be proactive, anticipate needs, and get ahead of the tasks
  • Value-adding as an Executive Assistant by being the strategic partner
  • Adapting to the rapidly changing office environment’s work practices and technology

Rachel Horton, Executive Assistant to David Fyfe, Chief Executive Officer and Michelle Shepherd, Chair, Synergy

Jacinta Altham, Senior Executive Assistant, Mid West Development Commission

Sophie Menezes, Executive Assistant (ADG), Business and Corporate Services, Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage

15.10     Afternoon Tea

15.40    Prioritising multiple tasks to effect greater efficiency in your workday

  • Identifying task and stakeholder importance to create meaningful deadlines
  • Understanding the difference between deadlines to enable prioritisation
  • Recognising whether multitasking or focus should be your strategy
  • Knowing your peak performance time to prioritise complicated and simple tasks

Tess Maynard, Business Development & Events Administrator, GHD

Rhiannon Thompson, Executive Assistant, State Forensics, Mental Health, Public Health and Dental Services, Department of Health

Brooke Thorburn, Executive Assistant – Office of the CEO, Racing & Wagering WA

Kamal Bhabra, Executive Assistant – Vice-Chancellery, University of Western Australia

16.25     Close of Congress Day Two