The InterContinental, Melbourne, The Rialto

Congress Day One – Wednesday 20 March 2024

08.30 Registration

09.00 Opening remarks from the chair

09.10 Keynote Address: CONFIDENCE AND COURAGE = RESILIENCE

Building inner strength to boost your confidence, giving you the courage to speak
Understanding how best to promote your ideas
Kicking uncertainty and insecurity to the kerb to make room for self-assuredness
Gaining the confidence to find your own voice to advocate for yourself in all aspects of your career and your life

Grace Tame,

2021 Australian of the Year, motivational speaker, advocate for speaking out

10.10 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

Kerryn Powell, Founder and Director, The Network Catalyst

11.10 Morning coffee

11.35 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

Leigh-Anne McGill, Lead Executive Support and Office Coordinator, Secretary Office of the Secretary, Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions

Natalie Moore, EA to Executive Assistant to David Parr, Regional Head of Australia, Global Client Solutions – Australia, IFM Investors

Kaye Mercer, EA to CEO and Executive Team, Alumina Limited

Emma Crowe, Executive Assistant to Lucy Poole, Head of Division, Strategy, Planning and Performance, Digital Transformation Agency

12.15 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

David Park, ELL Digital Transformation Lead, Pearson

13.00 Lunch

13.55 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

Frank Joyce, Director, Organisational Performance, Mitchell Shire Council

Andrew Douglas, Managing Principal, FCW Lawyers

Thomai Veginis, Chief Procurement Officer, Procurement Division, Investment & Technology, Department of Transport and Planning

14.40 Building your confidence and self-worth to realise your value

Knowing your ability to deliver what you bring as an Executive Assistant
Understanding the value of the abilities you bring as an Executive Assistant
Ensuring your contributions are visible to the organisation
Marrying your experience to opportunities that arise

Megan Green, EA to CEO, Reliance Real Estate, Page Personnel EA of the Year, 2016, Finalist, CEO Magazine EA of the Year, 2018

15.25 Afternoon tea

15.50 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

Narrelle Matthey-Aickin, EA to Chief Risk Officer Institutional Banking, ANZ

16.30 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

Kristi Evans, Project Manager, KSE Project Management

17.10 Networking drinks

Congress day 2 – Thursday 21 March 2024

9.00 Opening remarks from the chair

09.10 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

Samantha Webb, Board Secretariat, Beyond Blue

09.55 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

Amanta Giesen, Executive Assistant to Chief Executive Officer, Choice Hotels Asia-Pac

Linda Grant-Janson, Executive Assistant to Chief Operating Officer, RACQ

Abilene Roscoe, Executive Assistant to Chief Information Officer, VMIA

10.40 Morning coffee

11.10 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

Clair Turner, Founder and Executive Coach, Clair Turner

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, Director, Mario Halouvas Productivity Professionals

12.40 Lunch

13.40 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

Sue Glasser, Productivity and Success Coach, Director, Paperclippo

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

Kathryn Moir, Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer and to the Executive Director, Governance, Quality & Assurance, Red Cross Lifeblood

Dee Peterson, EA, Public Affairs Department, Executive Manager Janine Morgan, City of Whittlesea

Leigh-Anne McGill, Lead Executive Support and Office Coordinator, Secretary Office of the Secretary, Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions

Tara Bedwell, Executive Assistant to Kira Duggan, Director, Evaluation & Program Impact Branch, Performance & Evaluation Division, and Robert Mizzi, Director, Performance Reporting Branch, Performance & Evaluation Division, Department of Education

15.10 Afternoon tea

15.40 End of Congress Day Two