EA PROFILE but at the time there was a lot of changes happening in the organisation . So , it was just getting that stability quite quickly and getting everyone feeling like they were one team and on the same journey .”
Back when we spoke with Kieran in 2020 , he knew the importance of the EA role and how it would remain an integral role in the future of administrative work .
“ The EA is the face of the brand and they can change the mood . They can be the extra support when that manager isn ’ t around because they ’ re travelling or what not , so you ’ re really like a business support partner . Not only in a high volume of administrative tasks , but it ’ s also understanding the business that they ’ re in , how you can support them in that and make their life easier and having that human element . Because 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 . I don ’ t think you can ever take that people factor away .”
Kieran is also a big supporter of working with a mentor to develop professionally and personally as an EA . In this environment and to work on your career and develop , it ’ s important to have somebody to look up to and gain
Above Kieran Ewald with Alex Jones ( senior regional director at Hays ). Hays Office Support is sponsor of the Up & Coming EA of the Year award
wisdom from . Kieran met his mentor at the time Anthony Carthew through Executive PA and the relationship has only confirmed to Kieran the value in mentorship .
“ We ’ ve met up a few times and he ’ s given me advice and guidance . I think that ’ s really important , especially from someone so senior and in a great position . I encourage that for everyone and I ’ m going to continue doing that . And I try to pass that on . I haven ’ t got that level of experience like Anthony but I do try to hold sessions with other EAs within my community at CBA to help them become more efficient or pass along the learnings I ’ ve had in my time here . It ’ s all about sharing knowledge and lifting everybody up .”
For a relatively new EA , Kieran ’ s recognition at the 2019 Executive PA Awards made it a night to remember .
“ It was such a pleasant surprise . Because I ’ m new to this corporate world I wasn ’ t even aware of Executive PA Media until I was nominated for this award . But I did some research and realised how prestigious it was . I definitely didn ’ t expect to win the award , so that was even better . The whole experience was lovely , everybody there was really nice and the awards night itself was really fun . Ever since then I ’ ve kept in tune with you guys on LinkedIn and social media , and some other people that I met there . But an overall experience , I found it super engaging and very well run and professional , a great calibre of people involved .”
He also highly recommends self-nominating or nominating your boss or EA at the upcoming awards this year . Not just for the recognition , but for the connections formed with like-minded individuals .
“ It ’ s an amazing experience and a great thing to have under your belt and on your resume . Not only does it reflect well on yourself , but it reflects well on your team and the people that you work with , on your leaders and is great promotion for everyone around you as well as yourself . It ’ s a great way to network and meet people and get in touch . And find mentors like I did .”
At the time of this interview back in 2020 , Kieran was fresh out of winning Up and Coming EA of the year at the Executive PA awards . But since then , he has progressed in his role to working as a Talent Acquisition Partner within CBA ’ s campus team and is responsible for recruiting their graduates . For Kieran , working his way up the corporate structure was a mix of both support from his seniors and initiative on his part .
“ I had supportive leaders who believed in getting me to wherever I wanted to go . I was also extremely proactive in networking , seeking development opportunities and was successful with gaining a secondment prior to my current role . With the experiences I had during this secondment , I was then able to land myself this TAP role .”
Kieran ’ s experience as an EA was a helpful steppingstone to his new role and he ’ s since found that a lot of his previous skills were transferrable to the work he is doing now .
“ I absolutely believe that 99 % of the transferable skills I had learned as an EA helped me get to where I am . There were many skills I needed to focus on to help me in this role , but the foundations were there . Logistics / project management , scheduling , stakeholder management and especially customer service .”
Although he has now progressed onto a new role and is thoroughly enjoying learning and developing further , his experience as an EA will always be close to Kieran ’ s heart and something that he misses each day .
“ I definitely miss the wide range of interactions with people . I miss the feeling of being able to solve problems and easily take away people ’ s stress or unblock team issues so that they can succeed . I ’ d also be lying if I said I didn ’ t miss being ‘ in the know ’ with confidential / exciting plans or projects and being across everything !”
Kieran ’ s success as an EA helped him build the foundations of a long , fruitful career and paired with his ambition to succeed there is nothing stopping him from taking on the world . His experience is a lesson for all EAs out there looking to pursue their dreams : trust yourself and your skills and don ’ t be afraid to put yourself out there . S
For more information on Executive PA Awards visit https :// executivepa . com / awards
Summer Issue 2021 | Executive PA 51