Executive assistants make headlines of their own

While it’s usually CEOs getting interviewed about their achievements, the people that help make those achievements possible are just as important, says April Capochino Myers for Greater Baton Rouge Business Report. Executive assistants have to stay organized and ready for any task their high-profile boss might throw at them. Here are a few executive assistants making headlines of their own.

• Shannon Guidry, executive assistant to Founder and CEO Todd Graves, Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers: Gui­­dry has been working for her boss for almost a year now, and spends most of her days managing his emails, meetings and travel bookings. Working for an entrepreneur worth more than $60 million can seem daunting, but she handles it by being organized and flexible with how she ap­­proaches the job.
• Tara Saxon, executive assistant to Chairman Emeritus Lane Grigsby and four other top executives, Cajun Industries and Cajun Constructors: Saxon has worked for Cajun Industries for 14 years and is passionate about the career she has created. “After a year, I thought I could never see myself anywhere else,” she says. Saxon’s job consists of emailing Grigs­­by about appointments, calling him to remind him about tasks and booking any trips he might take. Saxon is now assisting five of the company’s top executives, and al­­though it is challenging to know five people’s likes and dislikes, Saxon says it makes the job more exciting.
• Jane Swift, Lauren Haro and Kris­­tin Manske, various roles assisting CEO Jenni Peters, Varsity Sports: These three women help make Varsity Sports the successful company it is. Swift is the chief financial officer for the company, as well as the co-owner of Dream Silk Screens, the company Varsity Sports uses to print all of its T-shirts. Manske runs the shop on Perkins Road in Baton Rouge, and Haro is in charge of all the graphic design and social media needs. Each assistant is as important as the other and they keep the company running together.
• Ashley Arceneaux, director of presidential and policy communications for President F. King Alexander, Louisiana State University (LSU): Arceneaux has worked for LSU for two years and, while she describes the job as fast-paced, she finds her work to be meaningful in helping LSU succeed. Arceneaux works around the clock to help make sure all of the elements of Louisiana’s flagship university run smoothly. She stays up to date on higher education policies to help the president brainstorm new options for the university.

— Adapted from “The gatekeepers: Meet the right hands to Todd Graves, Lane Grigsby, F. King Alexander and other top executives.,” April Capochino Myers, Greater Baton Rouge Business Report.