pa profile

For most PAs, finding a specific industry in which you’re happy is not always a given. At the start of her career, Angie Williams managed to combine her knowledge of commerce and her skills as a shorthand typist to pave the way for a lifetime of interesting roles. Angie, who is the PA to Michael Izza, the CEO of the…

Most people taking part in a photo shoot want to look their best and Mark McCullum is no exception. He doesn’t normally look quite this smart though, as he usually dresses in T-shirt and jeans to cycle the 20 miles from his home in east London to his boss Gok Wan’s house in Hampstead, writes Colette Doyle. His regular morning…

When you meet the PA to a high-profile CEO, you don’t expect to hear that she took a break early in her career to pursue an entirely different profession. Christine Hampson, who is currently the management assistant to the CEO of the British Security Industry Association (BSIA), did just that after starting as a secretary at a law firm, but…

Every once in a while you can be truly inspired by the story of a person who has worked incredibly hard to achieve their goals. Sherri Eckworth, who now supports three of the directors at digital creative agency Tullo Marshall Warren (TMW) is one of those people, a woman who has gone from cleaning offices to being an award-winning EA.…

When most people picture a personal assistant they imagine a woman running errands for a high-flying, big-city exec. Rarely would you conjure up images of someone working around tractors and six dogs, one of which is her own four-legged companion. As a self-proclaimed country PA, Alison Ward has a thing or two to say about the value of the work…

Personal assistants are required to have more skills than ever in today’s busy office environment. So what happens when a PA branches out on her own and starts a new business? She uses everything she’s learned to be successful, according to Melanie Kaye. One of several executive-level positions Melanie held in her 20 years as a PA was assistant to Oleg…

If there’s one question Eleanor Marshall gets asked a lot it’s whether she meets celebrities at work. She smiles at this and admits she usually has to act coy when it comes up in conversation. “By the nature of the job, we have bands and artists in the studio just about every day, but it’s not professional to ask them…

When Lisa Ditchburn tells people what she does for a living, she is often asked if she wears a sparkly spandex leotard to work. “Magician’s assistant” certainly sounds like a fun, if somewhat frivolous, role. “It’s a conversation starter,” she comments. However, in the four years she has spent at Marvin’s Magic as PA to founder Marvin Berglas, she has proved it’s not…

Deborah Shaw never seems to turn down an opportunity; one of the most significant was when a friend invited her on holiday to Los Angeles. “It was April, the weather in California was gorgeous and I didn’t want to leave,” she laughs. Then a new acquaintance said that if Deborah were to come back, they would employ her. Spurred into action, she…

Bryony Fagan has never been work-shy. Starting her first full-time role after college as an office administrator at NCP, within a month of joining the company she was offered a position as the regional managing director’s personal assistant. When the northern and southern regions were merged, she became assistant to the MD, Duncan Bowins. The role was the first she…

Michelle Dersookiasian is PA to Toni Mascolo, co-founder and CEO of Toni & Guy. Clearly, beauty is in Michelle Dersookiasian’s blood, writes Colette Doyle. This 32-year-old personal assistant of Armenian descent started off as a Saturday girl at the local hairdresser’s at the tender age of 14. Fast forward to 2013 and she now works for the co-founder of the…

Alison Boler, currently a legal PA at ITV, always knew she wanted to work in entertainment. Once she had decided her path, nothing could dissuade her. She gained a certificate in secretarial training at 18, and immediately upon leaving university bought 100 second class stamps and sent her CV to every film and entertainment company in London. Her tenacity paid…

Caroline Rush, Executive Assistant to Felix Dennis, founder and owner of Dennis Publishing.  While some corporate workplaces are bland, faceless zones, the same can hardly be said of the office of Felix Dennis, the flamboyant owner of Dennis Publishing. Taking pride of place on the wall is a print of Oz, the infamous satirical magazine that resulted in him being…

There are traits any PA needs: reliability, for instance. But to be a celebrity PA, you need discretion and flexibility, says Merryl of PA Access All Areas. In the world of showbiz, things are always changing, and there is no point getting precious about your carefully crafted itinerary, or stressed when something has to be moved around. You need resilience…

What?s it like being part of the team behind Arsenal? Karen Brown, PA to Ivan Gazidis, CEO of Arsenal Football Club, says she was originally attracted to her role not because she loves football, but because of the globally recognised brand. She soon found that the big-business atmosphere suited her perfectly. ?I?m actually a very corporate person,? she says, ?and…

PA to Sir Trevor Brooking CBE, Director of Football Development at The Football Association. Emma Kernan-Staines, FAPA DipPA, has the kind of job football fans would die for: not only does she work at the iconic Wembley Stadium, she also has the ear of one of English soccer?s most venerable practitioners: FA Director of Football Development, Sir Trevor Brooking. Not…

When Andy McGrath, PA to director of television at ITV, gave us feedback on the magazine, saying he felt it was aimed solely at women (you can?t blame us, there are a lot of you ladies!), our interest was sparked. We sent Emma Cooke to meet him, to try and shed some light on being a male PA in a…