From the Obama White House to Clinton and Kamala Harris—An Executive Aide’s Story
Executive Office Insights
200: What is it really like to work at the highest levels of American politics? In this episode of the Executive Office Insights Podcast, Opal Vadhan shares her extraordinary journey from an intern in the Obama White House to becoming the personal aide to Vice President Kamala Harris. As a first-generation Indian American raised in Queens, New York, Opal offers a powerful perspective on leadership, public service, and the importance of empathy in high-pressure environments. She reflects on her years working closely with Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton before joining the...
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Modern Leadership & Assistenz: Zusammenarbeit auf Augenhöhe
Executive Office Insights
199: Moderne Assistenz, smarte Tools und Microlearning, so sieht erfolgreiche Zusammenarbeit 2026 aus! In dieser Podcastfolge sprechen Florian Sandmann-Reetz und Dorothea Steinmetz über moderne Führung, Assistenz auf Augenhöhe und den strategischen Einsatz von Microsoft 365, Copilot und dem neuen Outlook. Du erfährst: - Warum Vertrauen wichtiger ist als Mikromanagement - Wie Aufgabenmanagement mit Outlook, Planner & To Do wirklich funktioniert - Warum das neue Outlook besser ist als sein Ruf - Wie Copilot und KI den Arbeitsalltag verändern - Weshalb Microlearning die Zukunft der...
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EA to the President of ABC News - Elle Tyra (only audio)
Executive Office Insights
198: What if you stopped thinking like an assistant and started thinking like a CEO? What does it really take to move from task manager to strategic partner? In this episode of The Leader Assistant Podcast, Jeremy Burrows speaks with Elle Tyra in a powerful conversation about executive operations, career growth, and redefining the modern executive assistant role. Elle shares her journey from the art world to serving as executive assistant to the president of ABC News, previously to the CEO of The New York Times, and the president of Hauser & Wirth. Along the way, she discovered that true...
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Not “Just an Assistant”: How Top EAs Become Executive Partners
Executive Office Insights
197: What if the most underrated role in leadership is actually the one that makes everything run? In this episode of Executive Office Insights, Joe Davis (Senior Advisor, former Managing Director & Senior Partner, and North America Regional Chair Emeritus, BCG) and Mary Kate Steincke (Administrative Services Manager, former Senior EA) unpack what real executive support looks like when it evolves into true partnership. You’ll hear how high-performing leaders and EAs build trust, decision rights, and a shared operating rhythm. The best support isn’t “task help,” but a strategic...
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How Sona Movsesian Became Conan O’Brien’s Assistant (only audio)
Executive Office Insights
196: You think assistants just “support” leaders? Think again; they’re the reason everything works. We are doing something special! I have partnered with my friend Jeremy Burrows, host of The Leader Assistant Podcast, to exchange some of your favorite episodes. Together, we are bringing you conversations with incredible guests who share insights, stories, and strategies to empower assistants and leaders alike. Tune in, enjoy the lineup, and don’t forget to connect with both Jeremy and our featured guests, you will find inspiration and practical takeaways to elevate your work and...
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6 years of Executive Office Insights podcast
Executive Office Insights
195: Celebrating six years of Executive Office Insights, Diana welcomes Helen Monument for a special anniversary conversation that looks back at the podcast’s remarkable journey. Together they revisit the very first moments that sparked this series, recalling the energy of launching a platform dedicated to executive excellence and support leadership. From those early recordings to the diverse lineup of inspiring guests who have shared their wisdom, this episode is both a tribute and a celebration. It honors the voices that shaped the dialogue, the lessons learned along the way, and the...
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Stop Being Underpaid: Introducing the ROI Calculator
Executive Office Insights
194: How Executive Assistants can turn daily support work into hard numbers that lead to real raises. In this conversation, Elizabeth Sutkowska (based in Gdańsk, Poland) breaks down a practical way to negotiate your EA salary with data, using an EA ROI Calculator that tracks time saved, cost avoided, and the business impact leaders actually understand. If you’ve ever heard “your salary is fair,” this is the exact mindset (and method) that flips the script. We also go beyond compensation and dig into the bigger picture of modern Executive Support: - From Au Pair → Hospitality →...
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Karriereweg: Executive Assistant, Teamleiterin, Unternehmerin
Executive Office Insights
193: Was braucht es wirklich für eine erfolgreiche Karriere in der Assistenz? In dieser Folge spricht Evelyne Moser über ihren persönlichen Karriereweg als Executive Assistant mit Führungsverantwortung. Sie teilt Erfahrungen aus ihrer beruflichen Entwicklung, zentrale Entscheidungen und die Kompetenzen, die sie auf diesem Weg geprägt haben. Evelyne erzählt, wie sich die Rolle der Assistenz im Laufe der Zeit verändert hat, welche Anforderungen heute damit verbunden sind und was es bedeutet, Verantwortung zu übernehmen – fachlich, menschlich und organisatorisch. In dieser Episode...
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Inside the EA Role at Tetra Pak: Career Growth & Insights
Executive Office Insights
192: How a Technician Became a Top Executive Assistant at Tetra Pak! In this inspiring and honest conversation, we meet Niklas, a former technician who made an unconventional leap into the world of executive assistance. From managing machines to managing people, he shares how his technical background, team leadership, and passion for connection made him thrive in his new role at Tetra Pak. We talk about: - The evolving assistant profession- Remote leadership and collaboration across countries - Being a male EA in a female-dominated field...
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How Working Out Loud Transforms Careers, Confidence & Connection - John Stepper
Executive Office Insights
191: What if the key to growth isn’t working harder — but working together? In this inspiring long-form conversation, Working Out Loud founder John Stepper reveals how peer-to-peer development, shared learning, and authentic human connection can transform not only careers but entire organizational cultures. John shares the origin story of Working Out Loud (WOL), now used in more than 100 global organizations, and explains why meaningful relationships, psychological safety, and generosity are at the heart of effective personal development. We explore how WOL circles spark confidence,...
info_outline173: Discover what it's really like to operate at the top. In this eye-opening conversation with Mackenzie Lee, we explore the evolving role of the Chief of Staff, the transformation of the CEO office, and how AI is reshaping leadership.
Whether you're an Executive Assistant, rising leader, or startup founder, this episode delivers actionable insights on succession planning, strategic decision-making, and the future of executive operations.
Learn how to build a world-class office, improve performance through health checks, and download the top-rated Office of the CEO playbook.
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Mackenzie is the CEO & Founder of Cedar. He helps CEOs and their C-suite teams to let go and do more. He gives leaders the freedom to do things that matter.
Mackenzie fights C-suite distractions, busywork and blockers. He helps his clients to hire a Chief of Staff, build the Office of the CEO, and implement operating systems that turn executives into fast and fearless leaders.
As a former management consultant, startup founder and Chief of Staff, Mackenzie has almost two decades of experience partnering with C-suite to scale new heights, no matter what challenges they face.
Mackenzie has worked with leaders from Fortune 1000 companies, top scaleups, private equity-backed companies, and government organizations, with a particular focus on financial services, technology and healthcare industries. He’s advised executives at Google, Palantir, Citi, Optum and the Department of Energy among other top organizations.
Mackenzie is a sought-after speaker, researcher, and thought leader on all things related to leadership, Chief of Staff and the Office of the CEO. He is a graduate of the Stanford StartX accelerator, proud Stanford management science & engineering alum and Stanford public policy alum. Mackenzie now lives in New York City.
Links
Office of the CEO Playbook:
Chief of Staff Playbook
Haufe Chief of Staff Zertifizierung
https://www.haufe-akademie.de/41675
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đź”´ Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/iC_ibB-_wSw
Diana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diana-brandl/
Executive Office Insights Newsletter: https://the-socialista-projects.com/#newsletter
Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3qBSDjTfYOG2x6qos7dKkS
Podcast on Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/the-future-assistant/id1493106661