Interview with Mihaela Boitan

This week I am so excited to introduce you to Mihaela Boitan. . With over a decade of experience, she's a seasoned EA supporting senior leaders in the fast-paced world of asset management and private equity. Mihaela operates as a critical strategic partner, ensuring her leaders protect their time, maintain clarity, and keep key priorities moving forward, often gaining incredible visibility across her firm.

Known for being incredibly perceptive, remarkably calm under pressure, and quietly effective, Mihaela anticipates needs, spots gaps, and makes practical decisions with deep ownership. Whether she’s coordinating complex global travel or streamlining internal processes, she approaches every task with intention. Beyond the office, you'll find her embracing calm in the Kentish countryside, experimenting (with mixed results!) in her garden, or happily losing track of time in a good novel. I can't wait for you to hear her insights! Let's dive in.

Mihaela, with over 11 years as Executive Assistant to the President at Curzon Advisers Limited, you've clearly demonstrated incredible dedication. What do you believe is the most crucial factor that has contributed to your longevity and sustained success in supporting a senior executive in such a long-term role?

11 years does sound like a very long time, doesn’t it? It is worth mentioning that I have worked with a number of different executives during this time, each with their own styles and specific challenges.

If I were to choose just one thing, I’d say that it all comes down to TRUST – it really is the golden currency in this role. I’ve dedicated time and energy to build trust with my executives. There are a number of ways you can do this, and I’m confident that every seasoned EA out there follows their own guidelines so there is no one way to achieve it, but here’s what’s worked for me:

• Staying genuinely curious, asking questions to understand, digging deeper, leading with WHY

• Listening (actually listening) to what was said and what wasn’t said, so that I could really get to know what’s important to them, how they work, what they need to excel

• Being reliable and dependable and demonstrating competence time and time again

• Embracing adaptability as priorities can shift so quickly

• Owning my mistakes and relentlessly following through

• Caring – about the role, the company, my executives

• Assuming the best. Sometimes emotions run high, egos get over inflated, etc – and it’s important to develop the ability to extend the same grace and generosity to others that you’d want them to give to you.

Given your extensive experience, what's one piece of advice you would offer to a new executive assistant about truly understanding their executive's priorities and becoming an indispensable partner?

It’s the one piece of advice I always give when asked, and it ties in with my answer to your previous question: If you want to become an indispensable partner, first and foremost, focus on building trust. You might want to rush in, impress them with your brilliance, change things, etc, but none of that will matter if they can’t trust you. So be curious, ask questions to understand how they work, what their pain points are, where their focus is, what truly matters to them and their goals, why does it matter, and then build systems to support that. I find that many new assistants are reluctant to ask too many questions, but I am a firm believer that asking genuine questions is a sign we care, not a weakness and there truly is no better way to learn how you can best support them.

How do you approach developing these relationships with internal colleagues, external partners, and clients to ensure seamless communication and effective support for your executive?

I get curious and make it about them 😊. Years ago, I worked as a hotel receptionist, and one of the things I learnt there was to make time and ‘walk the floor’. Everything ultimately runs through Reception in a hotel, and the more you know about what is happening in every department, what others are working on, who’s who, the easier it is to do your job well. So, I set time aside every week, to meet with various departments, to ask questions, to wish someone a happy birthday, to celebrate their success.

I carry that ‘walk the floor’ mindset with me in my EA role – I get curious about what my colleagues are working on, what their priorities or difficulties are, what their wins are, and who they are outside of work as well. That in turn builds trust (once again, that magic word 😊) and it means I can effectively operate as a bridge, a connector between my executives and the rest of the organisation.

Can you describe an event, meeting, or offsite you've played a significant role in organizing, detailing how you managed the logistics, adapted to challenges, and ensured its successful execution?

A few years ago, I teamed up with another EA at my company and organised our summer party. We worked for months in advance figuring out all the necessary logistics, researching and vetting a number of suitable venues, organising travel and accommodation for some of our colleagues that were travelling from other offices in Europe, etc. 1 week before the event date, the venue team contacted us to say they had an unfortunate kitchen fire and they were going to close for the next few weeks, so they could no longer host us.

My colleague and I had a few minutes of panic – just like that, our venue, dinner & entertainment were all gone in an instant. We then took a deep breath and in true EA fashion, got to work so we can figure out a solution (we didn’t want to let down 50+ of our colleagues). We used every contact we had, and by the end of the second day, we had a nearby terrace booked, we changed the planned sit - down dinner into a relaxed evening barbecue get together, booked a brilliant caterer we had used in the past, and a friend of my colleague’s who played the saxophone agreed to be the entertainment. In the end, we pulled off a brilliant event, that was fun, relaxed and where everyone had the best time.

When you're not playing calendar Tetris or creating contingency plans, you enjoy gardening and exploring the Kentish countryside. How do these personal interests contribute to your self-care and help you maintain your adaptability and resilience in a demanding executive support role?

The EA role can be extremely rewarding and equally demanding at times. We don’t just manage logistics and operations – we constantly read the rooms we’re in, manage moods, tune in to what’s unsaid, absorb tension that isn’t really ours, manage other people’s energy levels, etc. All of that requires a tremendous amount of resilience on our side, and we can’t do it successfully if we don’t find ways to prioritise our own wellbeing, reset and fill up our own cups.

Nature has always been my form of therapy. Whenever I’m overwhelmed, depleted, confused, angry, sad - really anything that doesn’t spell happy, grounded human - there is no better cure than walking among the centuries’ old trees in the nearby forest. It brings me back to myself, it grounds me, and it reminds me of what matters, and most importantly – it just allows me to breathe. There’s a beautiful poem written by Becky Hemsley that resonates so deeply with me, and I’ll quote the last two lines here: ‘for the forest said nothing / it just let her breathe’.

__________________________________________________________________

Mihaela is an experienced Executive Assistant with over a decade supporting senior leaders in asset management and private equity. She operates as a strategic partner to leadership, helping them protect their time, maintain clarity, and move key priorities forward.

She work closely with the most senior leaders in her organization, those responsible for investment strategy, origination, and business operations. Her role provides her with visibility across the firm and the opportunity to contribute to projects and planning that extend well beyond the traditional EA scope. Whether she's coordinating stakeholder meetings, structuring complex travel, or navigating shifting priorities, she operates as a steady, strategic presence behind the scenes.

Mihaela is known for being perceptive, calm under pressure, and quietly effective. She anticipates needs before they surface, spots gaps others miss, and makes practical decisions that respect both urgency and detail. Whether she is streamlining internal processes, safeguarding her executive’s focus, or liaising across teams, she works with intention and a deep sense of ownership.

Beyond the office, you’ll usually find Mihaela walking in the Kentish countryside, experimenting in the garden, or losing track of time in a good novel.

Mihaela's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mihaela-boitan/

The full poem that Mihaela referenced: