EA PROFILE
“ I keep things ticking at Beiersdorf .”
As she approaches retirement , Mary Dimech admits it ’ ll be tough leaving her much-loved role as EA at FMCG skincare company Beiersdorf Australia Ltd
Please tell us a little about yourself ... I ’ m what you would call a ‘ mature and vastly experienced ’ EA , having worked for more than 35 years . I ’ m single and have no children but I have an older brother , many nieces and nephews , and a wide circle of friends . I come from Maltese heritage but was born and bred in Sydney . Oh , and I love coffee and travel .
What was your most interesting role as an assistant ? In my mid-twenties , I saw an opportunity to go to National Parks and Wildlife Service ( NPWS ) where I was the administrative assistant to the director . It was a very interesting and rewarding position and , as I enjoyed bushwalking and nature , the environment was something I was passionate about . Day-to-day business was about State flora and fauna , saving koala habitat , rainforests and environmental planning . I came to identify almost every variety of parrot in NSW and also know a lot about monotremes !
Have you ever not been an EA ? Yes , after my role at NPWS I reluctantly Ieft to join the world of big corporations – and there were none bigger than then tech giant IBM . I was offered a role as one of two EAs on the personal staff of the managing director of IBM Australia and New Zealand , which was a whole new ball game . But I soon progressed into a world outside of the EA arena . I went on to do various roles : procurement administrator , project administrator , sales management advisory , sales operations and sales training . I was then introduced to event management , where I worked for Asia Pacific in the finance industry as a marketing events program manager . For three years I travelled through Asian cities organising customer and internal conferences for up to 150 people , and had administrative staff . I was promoted soon after to the office services manager role where I managed 40 EAs .
Tell us about your current role . Does anything stand out as being very different from what assistants in other industries may experience ? I love it , and it has grown and evolved in the 10 years I have been with Beiersdorf . As the business grew , I made a submission for an extra head count to help support the senior general managers and assist with wider organisational responsibilities .
I now have a team assistant who reports to me . I love training her , sharing my knowledge and experience , and seeing her grow with the passion she has for the role and the business . I have responsibility for contract management , which involves working closely with our legal counsel for the version control , contract signatories , ensuring audit requirements are met in relation to authority limits , and updating our global central repository .
In addition , although most EAs have responsibility for booking all aspects of travel , I am the account manager and first point of contact for our travel company . In conjunction with finance and procurement , I was on the selection committee for the current tender and helped write a detailed international and national travel policy for ANZ . I am also in weekly contact with our travel company in relation to fixing issues reporting and implementing our policies in their system .
What are the most important parts of your role ? I like to say I keep things ticking at Beiersdorf . I am not the clock face , nor the hands , but I work behind the scenes and keep the mechanism ticking along .
What do you rely on most to do your job ? The anatomy of a good EA must have many soft skills , as well as a thick skin , which are often taken for granted . Those that also come to mind include communication , forward thinking , resilience , resourceful , being an active listener and enjoy collaborating with others , but also can work independently . And having a good relationship with your IT department is a plus !
What motivates you ? Adding value and being valued . Full stop .
What ’ s your favourite thing about working for the company ? It ’ s like a like a family . The organisation is relatively small
50 Executive PA | Summer Issue 2024