Our Executive PA Summit 2025 took over the fabulous Alex Hotel, Dublin, on May 8–9, bringing together Ireland’s dynamic community of Executive and Personal Assistants, and business support professionals for two packed days of learning, connection, and inspiration.
From the moment guests arrived they were treated to a gorgeous morning spread, and the energy was electric. You could feel excitement in the air — two days away from the daily grind, surrounded by peers who get the challenges of the modern assistant role, with everyone ready to dive into the tools, strategies, and the right mindset that will shape the future of the profession.
Executive PA Forum co-founder and chairperson for the day, Fiona Kelly welcomed delegates and prepared everyone for what to expect throughout the day.
To open the Summit in the most empowering way, Trish Butera, founder of The Global Assistant Online, shared a powerful keynote streamed especially for the event. Highlighting the importance of actionable learning, Trish reminded us that “insight is only valuable if it inspires you to take action.”
👉 Watch her message again here:
✨ AI, Strategy & Empowerment: Day 1 Highlights
We kicked our first session of the day off with Catherine Tobin, Creative Director at Clic Create, who demystified the world of AI.
Catherine walked us through a maze of productivity tools, sharing her tried-and-tested favourites, a smart AI implementation checklist, and the key question: where can AI help, and where is human input irreplaceable?
Delegates were fired up with ideas, eager to practice how to reclaim time and sharpen their competitive edge.
Next up, Adrian O’Flaherty from Accenture delivered a fascinating look at what’s possible now and what’s coming next.
His message? Even in tightly regulated environments, there’s enormous opportunity for EAs and PAs to step up as AI champions, driving efficiency and innovation inside their organizations.
Adrian even created a website especially for the Summit with a detailed report and various tools for digesting the data included. He also created the above image using AI 30 seconds before his talk based on what was being discussed at the Summit!
Check out the website here: https://ai-accelerate-assistants-summit.lovable.app/
💼 Leveling Up: From Tasks to Strategy
After our morning tea break, the Summit took a sharp, empowering turn thanks to Solange Abraham of House by Solange. Her Career Clinic shook up how many attendees see their own professional identity — challenging them to move from being seen as “doers” to true strategic partners.
In an era where AI can handle routine tasks and deliverables with increasing efficiency, the difference between being seen as “support” versus a “strategic partner” has never been more critical.
This session revealed the psychology of influence and perception that transforms business support professionals from doers, implementers, and executors into invaluable strategic assets.
Using proven principles of professional influence, attendees learned how to reposition themselves for the AI-augmented workplace where strategic thinking trumps task execution.
Solange’s practical session on The Strategic Value Conversation reviewed the evolution of the administrative role, comparing what low autonomy looks like versus high autonomy strategic roles. Her talk gave everyone the language and confidence to reshape their position and how they’re perceived at work.
By the end of the session, participants understood the psychology behind workplace perception and walked away with practical tools to shift from someone who just gets things done to someone who partners on solutions — a role that becomes more valuable alongside AI.
🧘♀️ Achieving a Balanced Work Day and Feeling Joy in Your Work
Emma O’Toole — Yoga & Meditation Teacher, Office Assistant, and Founder of Yoga with Emma — led a restorative Stretch Break via video.
Her calming and grounding session invited attendees to breathe, move, and reset in the middle of a content-packed day. The yoga video played during this time created a peaceful ambiance.
Photos captured some lovely moments from the audience — including one of Fiona and Catherine Tobin!
💼 The Strategic Value Conversation – Building Your Strategic Narrative towards Implementation
Building on the momentum from Part 1, Solange Abraham led attendees through mastering the art of asking strategic questions that create space for others to truly recognise their value.
She showed how the questions you ask shape how people perceive your role — helping shift the narrative from task-doer to trusted advisor.
Participants practised conversation strategies that position them as thinking partners rather than task-takers, moving from admins to valued advisors.
They learned how to frame their roles around the problems they solve instead of just the tasks they complete, and how to craft a compelling strategic value story that changes perceptions.
Solange concluded with a practical roadmap, empowering attendees to implement these strategies smoothly, without resistance or overreach.
⚙️ Embrace Less Busy-ness and Achieve More Business – Prioritisation and Productivity Hacks for Today’s Assistant
In the first of his two sessions, James Louttit from Impactful Project Management shared essential tools for managing heavy workloads more strategically.
Key takeaways included:
- Focusing on high-value effort for greater impact
- Saying no and protecting your time
- Delegation and outsourcing strategies
- Business-wide efficiency discovery
- Using your influence to get buy-in
- Mastering difficult conversations
These strategies empower assistants to deliver higher value and become indispensable contributors to their organisations.
🏨 A Word from Our Venue Hosts
A warm thank you to The Alex Hotel Team, who ensured an exceptional delegate experience with their hospitality, facilities, and professionalism from all the team. Rachel talked us through the various options for meetings & events across the hotel and O’Callaghan Collection.
🔥 Fireside Chat with Sophie Chapman
After enjoying a delicious lunch break, attendees were inspired by an intimate fireside chat with Sophie Chapman, Director of Lifestyle to Steven Bartlett.
Sophie’s reflections on her career journey resonated with the audience. Her advice on balance, boundaries, and team cohesion reminded everyone that success is as much about humanity and kindness as it is about performance.
Special thanks to Savoya for organising Sophie’s transfers to and from Dublin Airport, and to Platinum Services for a luxurious and seamless experience through security, the private lounge, and chauffeur-driven transfer to and from the plane.
Get in touch with Fiona@ExecutivePAForum.com if you’d like to learn more about Executive Transport & Travel!
🤝 Growth Mindset – Effective Team Collaboration and Project Planning
In his second session, James Louttit returned to address project planning and team collaboration.
Attendees learned about:
- Planning poker
- Driving consensus, not just decisions
- Categorising workloads
- Clarifying responsibilities, resources, and risks early
The session equipped participants with frameworks for managing everything from day-to-day tasks to major projects with multiple stakeholders.
🚗 A Stellar Service to Make Your Life Easier!
Auby Brown, Senior Director at Savoya, delivered a session focused on simplifying ground transport for executive support professionals.
As a global executive transport provider, Savoya offers secure, premium service for assistants, travel agents, and aviation teams.
Auby’s insights showed how the right tools and services can dramatically reduce stress, improve coordination, and elevate the support you provide to senior leaders.
Just a selection of the delicious spread sponsored by The Alex Hotel!
⚡ Owning Your Power & Career Growth
After our final tea and networking break of the day, we were thrilled to welcome back Jean Evans of Advancia, who tackled the rarely discussed but hugely important topic of workplace power dynamics.
The session Unlock Your Power unpacked how to navigate organisational politics, own your influence, and push forward toward leadership and better compensation.
This talk was particularly insightful for the women in the room and the men who advocate for their colleagues. Jean divulged the secrets needed to get a head in your career – the unwritten code of career progression that is never taught on a syllabus or even in the workplace itself.
Delegates walked away energized and ready to advocate for themselves.
🤝Our sincere thanks to all our sponsors
We sincerely thank all our sponsors for their generous support in making Seven Summit 2025 a success. Your commitment and partnership are invaluable to us.
🛠 Practical Tools & Recharge: Day 2 Workshops
Day 2 – Workshop Day – was all about equipping participants with actionable tools to elevate both their professional impact and personal resilience.
A series of immersive workshops allowed attendees to dig deep into essential competencies for the modern Executive and Personal Assistant.
💬 Mastering Conversations that Get Results – The Influence Framework
With Solange Abraham
This hands-on session introduced a proven 5-step framework rooted in conversational psychology to help EAs influence effectively, navigate key conversations, and reshape internal perceptions. Participants learned to read the room, spot hidden signals, and guide discussions toward outcomes—solidifying their role as strategic partners in an AI-driven workplace. Solange ran this workshop like a roundtable, giving everyone the opportunity to explore their own career position and how to get from A to B.
🤖 How EAs & PAs can harness AI and maximise the power of this technology
With Catherine Tobin
In this hands-on workshop, Catherine Tobin, showed how EAs and PAs can leverage AI to transform their daily workflows. Participants discovered practical ways to automate repetitive tasks like scheduling and email filtering, freeing up time for strategic priorities. Catherine introduced AI tools such as chatbot assistants and predictive analytics to help EAs become proactive problem solvers rather than reactive responders. The session emphasized mastering emerging technologies, enabling attendees to evolve from operational support into transformational leaders who bridge technology and human connection in their organisations.
🎯 Articulating your value and navigating power politics in the workplace
With Dawn Leane
Dawn Leane led an insightful session focused on helping EAs and PAs confidently articulate their worth and navigate workplace dynamics. Building on themes from the Summit Day talk, Dawn guided participants through strategies to highlight achievements by linking them to real outcomes and using the right language to make impact visible. The workshop covered how to communicate consistently—during reviews or informal moments—supported by data, and how to build strong networks for influence and opportunities. Dawn also stressed mastering discretion, positioning participants to become trusted confidants and powerful influencers within their organisations.
🧠 Managing People, Priorities & Expectations – Becoming an Impactful EA
With James Louttit
James Louttit delivered an engaging, practical workshop focused on tackling everyday workplace challenges through effective planning and relationship management. Attendees explored various project management approaches, learned how to run meetings that actually work, and practiced realistic prioritisation balancing planned and unexpected tasks. The session also addressed motivating and managing stakeholders, empowering EAs to better align their own goals with those of their organisations. This hands-on workshop left participants equipped with clear, simple strategies to boost their impact through improved people and time management.
🧘 Achieving a Balanced Workday & Finding Joy in Your Role
With Emma O’Toole
Emma O’Toole’s interactive workshop offered practical techniques to help busy professionals maintain resilience and joy throughout demanding workdays. Through easy-to-follow yoga-inspired movements, stretching, and breathing exercises, attendees learned how to relieve tension, improve posture, and cultivate mindfulness without needing special gear or space. The session also explored emotional resilience strategies to stay calm and focused under pressure. Emma created a welcoming space where participants could refresh their daily routines and embrace well-being, combining movement and mindset shifts to prevent burnout and keep thriving in fast-paced environments.
“This workshop helped me learn how to better manage stress through simple yoga poses that can be done at work. These exercises are not only beneficial for our bodies by stretching muscles that often get tight from staying in the same positions, but they also encourage taking regular breaks to relax and recharge.
I highly recommend Emma for her approachable and supportive style, which makes it easy to incorporate these techniques into a busy workday.”
🌟 A Heartfelt Thank You to Our Sponsors & Partners
We are incredibly grateful to the amazing sponsors and partners who helped make the Executive PA Summit 2025 such a dynamic, inspiring, and unforgettable experience.
A massive thank you to:
✨ The Alex Hotel – Our stunning venue, whose warm hospitality and beautiful setting elevated the entire Summit atmosphere.
✨ The Global Assistant Online – Our trusted partner, empowering and connecting assistants around the world with cutting-edge resources and insights. Delegates were offered a special discounted rate on the next upcoming intake of the Power EA International Masterclass, a 4-week online program designed to elevate executive support professionals with the skills that truly matter in today’s global workplace.
From cultural intelligence and strategic communication to understanding how emerging digital tools like AI are shaping the role, this course helps you support leaders across borders with confidence and clarity. If you’d like more details on the course please e-mail Fiona@ExecutivePAForum.com.
✨ Savoya – For showcasing seamless, secure executive ground travel solutions that keep top leaders (and their teams) moving smoothly.
✨ Sound to Light – The tech magic behind the scenes, delivering flawless audiovisual experiences that kept our sessions vibrant and engaging.
✨ Ticketbutler – For powering our event check-ins and tickets with smart, intuitive solutions that made every guest feel welcomed and organized.
✨ Needi – Bringing creativity and fun to corporate gifting, making sure businesses surprise and delight their people in meaningful ways.
✨ Miss Jones Ireland – Our sister business connecting Ireland’s executive support community, fostering connection, opportunity, and growth.
Join us … Remember to enquire and book through Miss Jones to build up your reward points !
https://missjonesgroup.com/ireland/
Your partnership, expertise, and generous support are what help us bring the Summit vision to life — creating an empowering space where executive assistants, personal assistants, and business support professionals can learn, grow, and thrive.
From the entire Executive PA Forum team — THANK YOU for being such an integral part of our journey. 💛
🎉 Thank You for Making It Magic
To everyone who joined us, thank you. Your curiosity, questions, and energy are what make the Executive PA Summit such a special space year after year.
A huge shoutout to our brilliant sponsors and partners — your support makes these transformative events possible.
We can’t wait to welcome you back for another unforgettable experience at the 2026 Summit…
👉 Missed this year’s Summit? You can still purchase the event recordings — just reach out to Aisling at aisling@executivepaforum.com.
Until next year, keep shining and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in your role! 🌟
Just some of the comments we’ve received since the Summit ✨
“Thoroughly enjoyable and informative”
“Extremely enjoyable, amazing speakers, great networking opportunities”
“Hearing the experience of other Executive Assistants made the conversation very relatable. Feeling understood by others while listening to the talks”
“Incredible from start to finish, the whole day went smoothly and would love to attend again”
“Fruitful – I have a clearer idea of my role and how to work effectively. I felt not only was it a chance to network with my peers, I got the opportunity to learn more about the industry during the day. And I made some good connections with new vendors which was extremely helpful”
“EAs are usually isolated in their role, and to connect with other EAs and keep that network growing can really help me excel in my job. Also, having someone relatable that understands the stresses of the role was a big deal. Knowing how valuable we are to all the businesses – without us getting the ‘small things’ done, it wouldn’t allow our bosses to be out there in the world excelling”
“Interacting with everyone and learning new stuff, also getting time away from the office”
“All the speakers were excellent. It’s too hard to choose a favourite part of the day”
“Incredibly beneficial on so many levels”
“It was insightful and refreshing. Really enjoyed this year, got to meet some new people plus hook up again with old faces”
“Very enjoyable event. Was kept engaged in all sessions”
“Very positive, warm atmosphere”
“Very well organised event, speakers engaging and informative. Take-home tools received to implement”
“Engaging with fellow colleagues and listening to some interesting presentations”
