Attributes of a Personal Executive Assistant (Board Secretary)

Attributes of a Personal Executive Assistant (Board Secretary)

I'm interested to learn from members that serve on either executive committees or boards of global companies: what are the common attributes you look for when planning to employ a Personal Assistant? (not a secretary).
Which 3 are a must and why? Do you personally brief the recruiter or the head of HR? Why?

		Loh Tean Hin CxO / Board, Indonesia
	Requirements for a Personal Assistant I was thinking of PA but got a secretary instead. Some common attributes to PA are: accounting experience, good social values, superior memory remembering dates of appointment etc, think-out-of box of what the superior misses, report attributes of all staff, works well as a team.

		David Wilson Manager, Canada
	Executive Coordinator You may be looking for an "executive coordinator" or "board secretary" to assist the board in completing work through interaction with the various groups across the company. The position analyzes issues, writes briefing notes, coordinates budget compilation, interprets board policies, coordinates client/customer/employee surveys, develops internal procedures, etc. The seven competencies required (based on my order of preference) are analytical thinking, relationship building, effective communications, results orientation, process management, service orientation, and conflict management. The role will also vary based on the size and complexity of the company and board operations.

		Augustus Chuks Valentine Analyst, Nigeria
	Personal Assistant to an Executive I quite agree with the above mentioned requirements for a personal assistant, but I don't think having accounting experi...

		Toy Radebe Coach, South Africa
	Personal Assistant to an Executive Loh, David, Augustus - thank you for your contribution on the matter. I continue to try and learn what makes a world cla...

		robin umiom Entrepreneur, Nigeria
	Qualities of a Personal Assistant One basic quality for the personal assistant is to be a step ahead of the CEO in information, in the particular business...

		Andrew Blaine Business Consultant, South Africa
	Attributes of a Personal Assistant My PA must have the following attributes: 1. Tact - to handle both me and the other people with whom I interact on a bu...

		Olayemi Jayeola Manager, Nigeria
	The Importance of a Personal Assistant I believe the position of a personal assistant to a Chief Executive Officer of any organization is highly important and ...

		Tom Wilson HR Consultant, United States
	The Personal Assistant: the CEO's Sharp Pencil The operative phrase of business is "busy" and, in the case of the CEO of any dynamic organization, that includes operat...

		Jaap de Jonge Editor, Netherlands
	4 Behaviors of Executive Assistants Executive Assistants (EAs) have a key role to protect their very busy CEO / CXO from distractions and unnecessary activi...