EA PROFILE
“ I know we have a lot of new technology coming into our world that can do a lot of our job now but it ’ s the person behind executing that technology and supporting a person at the end of the day ”
Way back in 2020 we had the pleasure of speaking with Kieran Ewald , EA to the General Manager of Business Marketing at Commonwealth Bank and winner of Up and Coming EA of the Year . He chatted with us about his work history , his development in the EA role , and the benefits of working with a mentor .
Kieran has a diverse background from completing a Bachelor of Music at the Queensland Conservatorium in Brisbane , to a role at a real estate agency , then hospitality , then several years at major airlines , both on the ground and cabin crew . But being an EA or a PA was always on his mind , with his natural charisma making it easy to work with people and support an executive . So , when he was offered the chance to work at Commonwealth Bank Australia ( CBA ) as an EA , Kieran jumped at the opportunity . And while he didn ’ t have the administrative experience , his diverse work life had given him a skillset that was easily adaptable in this new role .
“ I think a lot of the skills I picked up in flight attending and working for airlines actually helped me with being successful . Some of the skills that shone through were definitely the customer service side of things . Having flown all around the world and serving all different types of people with different backgrounds , cultures , walks of life , celebrities , businesspeople , really put me in a great place for stakeholder management and working with people . I think that ’ s a really important part of my job now .”
The transition from working for an airline to the corporate world was interesting for Kieran . Going from shiftwork to the corporate environment was a stark change . But having worked for a large organisation and a reputable brand like Emirates and then CBA , he did understand how the corporate structure worked .
“ But not having that major background in administrative support , I was thrown in the deep end . I really had to learn how to swim quite quickly . It was a steep learning curve but one that I enjoyed . It threw a lot of challenges out there , but it really spoke to my personality , so I didn ’ t find it too tricky .
“ The really interesting transition was going from airlines , where it was quite leisurely , and the lifestyle was quite easy , and the work wasn ’ t too hard and was more body intensive . Where working in corporate is more straining on the mind so it was switching gears in that sense . I think it takes a lot
COMMBANK
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia , or CommBank , is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand , Asia , the United States and the United Kingdom .
www . commbank . com . au
out of you to be mentally strained . I ’ m so used to just being physically drained and you can kind of just keep on pushing but when your mind is tired you don ’ t feel like doing anything . It took a while for me to get that balance right .”
When Kieran started at CBA , the role he stepped into wasn ’ t quite defined and needed to be rebuilt . Alongside his general manager , he had to help build a workplace culture for the team .
“ I came into a really big and busy team within the digital space of CBA , with a really amazing leader . She was a gun and was always really ahead of the game and on top of things , which was a really great challenge for me . That kind of crafted me into the EA I am today . She was coming in as a general manager role and I was coming to help her set up a team , in a way . So just trying to get a lean operating rhythm and make sure everyone was working happily . Getting the culture right .
“ There ’ s a lot of personalities and you want to try and get everybody on the same page . It was just a matter of creating stability and making sure people felt comfortable ,
50 Executive PA | Summer Issue 2021