This document contains interviews with two personal assistants, Sarah Chapple and Julie Kelly. Sarah is the PA to the CFO and COO of Lacoste Footwear. She got into the industry after working in recruitment and realizing her strengths were in administration. Julie is an executive PA at NICE Systems. She landed her current role after backpacking and having limited time to find work. Both PAs discussed the positives of their roles, including working with good people, learning new skills, and receiving training opportunities. However, they also noted the challenge of managing expectations and being on-call. Overall, the interviews provided insights into how the PAs became personal assistants and what their typical days entail.

1. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014 | www.ExECuTivEPA.COM SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014 | www.ExECuTivEPA.COM
owned brand. I think there’s definitely a shift away from the tra-
ditional secretarial qualifications required in the past due to
increased variety in the PA role.
What are the positives and negatives of working in
your sector?
The company I work for is a family owned business with a great
culture. I work with some really good people in an amazing office
environment and get some great employee benefits. I feel my
skills are appreciated and I can tailor my role to best utilise them.
There are also plenty of training and development opportunities.
There aren’t really any negatives.
What have you done today?
Had a catch up with my boss, some diary management, booked
some travel and accommodation for overseas colleagues and cre-
atedapresentationformyboss.AfterlunchIcollatedtheQ2whole-
sale figures from the global distributors, prepared agendas and
itineraries for upcoming trips, updated the Lacoste intranet site
and prepared some communication on a project I’m working on.
What are the 5 websites you use most in your role?
Google would definitely be at the top of my list, followed by the
company intranet – I manage the Lacoste sub-site so I’m always
seeing what needs to be updated. I use Concur for processing
expenses and Booking.com is great for finding hotels, plus I like
to keep an eye on industry news on Drapers.
Technology has evolved considerably during the
last 5 years, which new tool do you rely upon today?
I couldn’t be without my iPhone – it’s set up to access my work
emails so it’s always close to hand. We have offices across the
world so when my working day is over there’s plenty going on
elsewhere and I like to keep track.
Who completes your work when you’re on holiday?
There are two other PAs within Lacoste and we coordinate our
holidays so at least one of us is in the office.
How many hours do you work per week?
37.5 officially, but more during busy periods.
What is the number of employees in your
organisation, and what proportion are PAs?
250 people globally in Lacoste Footwear, with three PAs to sup-
port the executive team of five.
How did you first get into the office support
industry?
My first PA role started as a summer job, I started working for
a charity whose founder was David Cameron’s ex speech writer,
I didn’t intend for this to be my career but five years later I’m
still enjoying it.
How did you land your current role?
I interviewed for this position four years ago, the role started
as executive PA to the founder and CEO of Fizzback. I took the
job on the spot and have remained here ever since. I’ve
learned everything from this role, including how to work effi-
ciently and all about working under pressure. As a small start-
up company, the role was never dull! In the beginning there was
a lot of pressure and expectations, but everyone pulled together
to make sure we succeeded in whatever project we were work-
ing on. Back then my role included buying donuts for the devel-
opers that worked into the early morning through to preparing
everything for our board meetings. Since I started in my role
we’ve been through an acquisition and I now work as an exec-
utive PA to four VPs at NICE Systems.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your
career and how did you handle it?
My current role includes working with very strong characters.
Sometimes it can be difficult to manage expectations and be
the middle ‘man’.
Do you have any industry related qualifications and
how important are they for PAs?
I don’t have any PA qualifications. I think if you’re ambitious
and dedicated and you’re given an opportunity to prove your-
self you don’t need any!
What are the positives and negatives of working in
your sector?
The positives are that I work with people every day, and I’m
given an opportunity to learn and grow. My role is extremely
varied as I work for four people with four very different roles.
I learn new systems and get quite involved in the background
of our major deals which is great. As for the negatives I guess
being on call all of the time, it certainly doesn’t make you pop-
ular with your friends or family!
What have you done today?
At the moment I’m working on our business review presenta-
tions from three different perspectives, including sales, serv-
ices and product.
What are the 5 websites that you use the most in
your role?
I use our internal systems which were designed specifically for
NICE systems, I use Salesforce multiple times a day, our expense
system, and for travel planning needs I tend to use websites such
as Skyscanner.
Technology has evolved considerably during the
last 5 years, which new tool do you rely most
heavily upon today?
My phone! I am constantly on my mobile, doing emails, diary
management etc. It’s my right arm.
Who completes your work when you’re on holiday?
There are two other PAs in my office; we cover for each other
while on holiday.
How many hours do you work per week?
I usually work from 8am to 6pm (9 to 5 doesn’t exist anymore).
What is the number of employees in your
organisation, and what proportion are PAs?
Wehavearound4,000employeesbasedin27officesin17different
countries. We have around three PAs per office. E
This month we find out more about the roles of two PAs – how did they
land the job and what does it entail by Maria Fuller
INTERVIEW
SARAH CHAPPLE
PA to CFO and COO, Lacoste Chaussures,
a division of Pentland Brands plc,
Global HQ, North London
JULIE KELLY
Executive PA NICE Systems, London
How did you get into the office support industry?
After a brief stint in recruitment when I first started out I realised
my strengths lay in administration rather than sales, so I moved
into a sales administrator role before becoming a PA.
How did you land your current role?
Having just returned from seven months’ backpacking around
South-East Asia and Australasia I had limited time (and funds!)
to find a job. I registered with agencies and searched the job sites
for a PA role in fashion, where my experience lies. I soon had a
handful of interviews lined up but this job was my first choice
so I was delighted to be offered it.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced and
how did you handle it?
Discreetly handling confidential and sensitive information – it’s
amazing the broad range of topics that come up so it’s a case
of striking the balance between confidentiality and continuing
to support my colleagues.
Do you have any industry related qualifications and
how important are they for PAs?
My degree in French and Management, whilst not specifically
industry related, has given me an overview of business, plus
being able to speak French is useful when working for a French
“I work with some really good people in an
amazing office environment and get some
great employee benefits ”
“I’ve learned everthing from this role,
including how to work efficiently and all
about working under pressure. As a small
start-up, the role was never dull.”