by Inger Wijnbladh, IMA Sweden

I joined EAPS in 1986 and the very same year I became a member of the Board in EAPS Sweden as Executive Treasurer. I hold this position until 1990 when I moved to Luxembourg. During my 12 years in Luxembourg I discovered what a fantastic network EAPS was.

Luxembourg is a country in the middle of Europe - 20 km from Belgium, Germany and France.

I joined the Luxembourgish group and participated in meetings in Belgium, Germany and France.

My first AGM was in Reykjavik sept 1986.

A nice memory when all members were invited to a cocktail party at the Residence of Island President Vigdis Finnbogadottir. She welcomed us all personally and we were allowed to go around and look at the premises.

1987 AGM in Athens

I was pregnant with my daughter and Helen Anastopoulos, Member of the Greek board, took specially care of me. She named my stomach her EAPS baby. When Caroline was born she sent me a beautiful wooden icon from the orthodox church. Helen has been visiting me in Stockholm and we, still after 36 years, send Christmas cards to each other. Talk about network…

The Chair (with red necklace) was Elizabeth Hawtin, secretary to MD of British Airways.

1988 AGM in Turku (Åbo), Finland

After the AGM some of us took a nice sauna.

I joined the sauna with Sonja Vanuar.

We had a splendid dinner at the medieval Turku Castle, where we were met by choir singing and given a warm welcome by the Mayor of Turku.

Folk-dancing and last but not least Tessa Eames, EAPS Belgium, a former operasinger, joining the minstrel in a song concluding the day.

1989 Council meeting, Venice, Italy

When landed at the airport there were no boats due to the flood. The Swedish group was helped by a kind man Gino Pallegrini. He later invited us to the famous Harrys bar.

After the Council Meeting we had a nice dinner and got italian masks to wear. 

The visit also of course included a gondola tour on Canal Grande

1989 Silvia Dymond from Brussels visited Stockholm

Me , my husband and daughter Caroline 1,5 year old took Sylvia Dymond from Brussels on a boat trip in the Swedish archipelago.

1989 AGM in Copenhagen

The first dinner was special. We were all invited to different Danish families. I was invited together with two young girls from Madrid. Our host was Helle Gale.

The Conference took place at Hotel d’Angleterre. After the AGM we joined a bus sightseeing and saw the Little Mermaid and Louisiana.

The Swedish Board:

Madeleine Beckman, Eva Bruce,

Anne-Marie Hellerström,

Inger Wijnbladh and Christina Holmström

My name is Heli Puputti and I joined EAPS Finland in 1988, so I’ve been member of the association since then whether it was called EAPS, EUMA or IMA. It immediately turned out that the association was the right place for me and right away got a lot of kind, new, important and useful assistant contacts. Many of them also became friends.

My last job was for 27 years at Postibankki (Post Bank), third largest bank in Finland at the time, today Danske Bank Finland, as Assistant to the CEO. During these years the CEO changed four times, but somehow I always managed to keep my position.

All my superiors had a very positive attitude towards our association, and at my employer's expense I was free to participate in the association's conferences, seminars and Training Days held in Finland and around Europe. I also could host various IMA events in many of the bank's representative premises, the most luxurious of which was the Art Nouveau villa, Villa Johanna, in Helsinki.

I was National Chairman of EUMA Finland from 1993 to 1997 and EUMA Executive Chairman from 2003 to 2007. I still have a few close friends from the other Board Members and other members from my time as EUMA Executive Chairman. Am also happy that I have many friends from IMA via Facebook. One of EUMA's important goals is also establishing international friendships.

The fact that the superiors of Finnish IMA Management Assistants have appreciated our association is still true. As an example from my own term as EUMA Executive Chairman, the fact that with the help of the contacts of one of our members' supervisors, I got 16 free Finnair flights to destinations where our association's main events in Europe were organized.

When I was National Chaiman of Finland, we sometimes invited our superiors to our celebrations and they were surprisingly happy to come. They were amazed by our many contacts and made even new business contacts themselves with some managers of other assistants.

Now I am retired since many years, but am still member of the association. At the end of my term as EUMA Executive Chairman, I have to thank EUMA Finland who gave me the title of National Honorary Member for life. I follow the development of IMA and participate in some IMA Finland’s events.

Questions I got asked frequently as Chairman:

• Was it difficult to be elected EUMA's Executive Chairman?

It was easy to answer "It wasn't. I was the only candidate!” Fortunately, today proper elections can be held and interest in the association's leading positions has grown. Every member should be aware of what a great opportunity it gives to develop yourself and getting useful connections not only for yourself but also for your company. It is also interesting to get to know more about the many different cultures, which are represented by the members of our association.

• Was the position of Executive Chairman valued?

Yes! I noticed it quickly. The day after the election, when I was on my way home from Amsterdam to Helsinki I went to the tax free store at the airport. Two young women cautiously approached me and asked: "May we speak to the Chairman?" They were new EUMA members and had for the first time participated in an EUMA international event. They told me about their hopes that new members should be better observed and that they would be pleased to have some senior member as a mentor. An excellent proposal that was quickly implemented in all national groups.

In Finland, my election as EUMA Executive Chairman of the Association also attracted attention and, for example, the financial magazine Optio did a long interview with photos.

• Was the job of EUMA Executive Chaiman difficult?

To this I always answered with a twinkle in my eye, quoting the editor-in-chief of the leading Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat: "Sometimes it was harder than always." Well, the fact is that there never was a problem so difficult that a solution could not be found, if not alone, at least together.

During my career I never felt like I was "just an assistant". I always felt that I was a respected "Executive Assistant" in my work community, both because of my experience and competence, but also as a person who got along with everyone. This is of course my subjective opinion.

I wish IMA the best of luck and success for the upcoming 50th anniversary and for the future!

Heli Puputti

My first EUMA Confrence as European Chairman was in Athens in 2004. EUMA Greece celebrated its 30th Anniversary. At the birthday cake from left Piyi Ghini, National Chairman EUMA Greece, Sonia Vanular, Founder, who was excited to taste the cake already with her fingers and Heli Puputti, EUMA Executive Chairman. 

Four IMA friends on a private visit to Rome in January 2018: From left Heli Puputti, EUMA Executive Chairman 2003 – 2007, Maria Lazarou, EUMA Executive Chairman 2009 – 2013, EUMA Deputy Executive Chairman 2006 – 2009, Tarja-Kaarina Korte, National Chairman EUMA Finland 1999 – 2003, Morna Robillard, EUMA Association Secretary.  

In April 2023 spent a few days in Reykjavik in Iceland. Had the pleasure of meeting lovely IMA friends from the past. On the left standing with Björg Jóhannesdóttir and Krístín Petursdóttir and on the right with Vilborg Kristjansdóttir, all once active members of IMA in Iceland and also on the Board or the Council.

Hello, dear colleagues and friends, this is Claudia Ackermann writing, 62 years, German, Management Assistant for 40 years, IMA-member for 37 years, living in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg for 18 years, and since recently… retired.

And this is the moment where I feel the need to share my story with you, especially with the new and younger colleagues, for a simple reason: My career would not have been the same without our professional network IMA! The role of an Executive or Management Assistant can sometimes be a lonely thing, especially in hard times, but with the association in my back, I felt never alone. The fact that I could contact members all over Europe at any time gave me a feeling of security and even “rescued” me sometimes. This is the emotional part of a network which is as important as the professional one in my mind.

Regarding the latter, our association was as of the beginning in 1974 an outstanding organisation. Our founder, Sonia Vanular, a British native, had the vision to empower professional secretaries (EAPS = European Association of Professional Secretaries) as she had seen the important role of this profession supporting top management in international organisations. The development from EAPS to EUMA (European Management Assistants) in 1998 at the AGM in Madrid, and some years ago to IMA (International Management Assistants) has proven that she was right to strengthen the image of assistants as partner of the management team, to develop the office profession by offering trainings and conferences, and to create a forum for highly committed and qualified executive assistants. This year, we celebrate our 50 years, and this is clearly a success story!

And the success I had in my job is clearly linked to our network: I attended numerous seminars on state-of-the-art office topics which supported me in my daily business where I was at the height of time, and appreciated by my bosses and team colleagues. When I started working after having studied languages (French and English) and Secretarial knowledge, there was still this cliche of a “typical secretary”, and we had to live with pejorative comments from people with prejudices. When I then discovered EAPS, I was immediately convinced that this is what I needed to pursue my professional path. It was a kind of relief for me, it strengthened my self-confidence and gave me the feeling to be a “modern” secretary or assistant. An additional advantage for the positive development of our profession was certainly the IT-evolution. With more technical know-how and responsibility for projects, we received at the same time more power with the consequence that job titles changed (Office Manager etc.) and salaries increased. This is an achievement, and I am grateful that I have got so much inspiration from our network allowing me to turn my professional life in a wonderful career. Of course, I have also given something to IMA as networking is not a one-way road, as we know:

From 1998 to 2002, I was Treasurer in the National Committee of EUMA Germany and regional leader for Berlin where I used to live at that time. This commitment made me grow in terms of personality, and this is not only enriching for your professional life, but in particular for your private life. To prepare trainings, events, board meetings, and speeches was a challenge on top of the daily job, but I was rewarded with unforgettable moments, especially with my fellows in the National and Executive Committee.

There is one highlight of the very beginning of my membership which I want to point out: together with the founder of the German group, Helga Glatzel, I organized in 1989 a seminar in West Berlin. We started beginning of the year to choose locations and speakers, and the slogan of the city of West Berlin at that time was “Berlin turns on”. Well, the seminar was scheduled for mid November, and one week before, on the 9^th of November 1989, the Berlin Wall came down! So, we were not only turned on, we were thrilled!! Everything was organised, we could receive the participants from all over Europe, and had historic moments together, especially in the Eastern part of the city. This is what IMA is about.

Due to the reunification of Germany, we organized during my National Committee time in the late 90s trainings in the famous cities Dresden, Leipzig and Weimar in the Eastern part of the country. The most valuable seminar for me at that time was about “Emotional Intelligence” (the bestseller of Daniel Goleman made this topic aware to the world) which is until today a hot topic. I definitely can say that my best superiors had all a high EQ . The other ones (and sure: we all have our experiences with bad bosses as well ) had a big ego and were trouble makers. Due to my knowledge in this field, i.e., due to IMA-seminars, I could always cope with difficult bosses and “survived” them. In this connection, I want to recommend a book with the title “Nonviolent Communication: A Language to Life” by Marshall B. Rosenberg. This book was a revelation for me (for a life beyond drama).

IMA did not only accompany my life-long learning process, but led me to many capitals and wonderful cities in Europe. I attended annual conferences, AGMs and trainings during the years 1995 to 2019 in: Cyprus, Munich, Madrid, Lugano, Reykjavik (in 1999: 25 years anniversary with our Patroness Vigdis Finnbogadottir, former President of Iceland), London, Helsinki, Milan, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Athens (in 2004: 30 years anniversary), Nice, Brussels, Oslo, Berlin, Zürich, Paris (in 2014: 40 years anniversary), The Hague, Geneva (in 2019: 45 years anniversary). It goes without saying that the discovery of other cultures and people was an added value to the professional purpose of those events. Regarding financing, I paid them on my own - as investment in my future which I have never regretted. Only my last employer here in Luxembourg had the same attitude regarding “return of investment”, and sponsored all IMA-conferences I attended during the last years. This was a late recognition I have of course appreciated.

It is not only about performance improvement in our network, but above all about people and relationships, and the following IMA-colleagues who became friends over the years will always remain in my heart: Helga Glatzel, Irmtraud Schmitt, Kirsten Esdar, Maria Urbauer, Eva Holzhauer, Margareta Skog, Karen Nanninga, Corinne van Stipriaan, just to mention a few. I will never forget the magic moments during pre-conference tours (e.g. Blue Lagoon spa in Reykjavik) or get-togethers at hotel bars after an intensive meeting day. We also had sometimes tough discussions, but always kept respect for each other.

IMA would not make sense without a job behind or in front. I was never a job hopper, and had long-standing employments in several international companies, and my professional way led me from Paris (2 years), Düsseldorf (1 year), and Berlin (20 years) to Luxembourg where I have been living since 2006. I am happy without children, and have always worked fulltime, and with joy. My most important employers were: Egon Zehnder International (Management Consultants/Executive Search) during my Berlin time, and SES S.A. (Satellite Telecommunications Network Provider) in Luxembourg. Both firms are “employers of choice” in their countries, and successful in their areas. They have strong business ethics which was important to me, and I could live my potential at its best which was a fulfilling task. Especially SES was a stroke of luck for me. I was happy for the job offer from a well-known company when I moved at the age of 44 for personal reasons from the German capital in this tiny country which is however “big in space” (with more than 70 satellites in orbit).

I am grateful that I landed here, in an open, multilingual, and tolerant society. The international spirit at SES was “my world”, and I could improve my English and reactivate my French. A decisive argument was also the fact that you can reach out to Paris from here, just in two hours by train.

In the last years, I used to work in the Marketing & Communications-department with an American boss. This was my best time as we shared the same values. So, I definitely can say that I had a happy end in my career which is a fantastic feeling.

To conclude: The official language says I am on retirement now. I am saying: I have reached the “ultimate sabbatical” which sounds more positive to me. The right wording for a friend of mine is however: Pension = The Fine Art of Hanging around. Either way, it implies freedom, self-determination and time sovereignty. And the skills of a Management Assistant are not lost when you reach this stage. With our knowledge and experience we can open our arms to new activities, and at the same time enjoy idleness in a positive way, or should I better call it “Dolce Vita”… God willing!

Last but not least: Congratulations to our 50 years anniversary! This is the Gold. I trust that the younger generation is reaching out for the stars and will be achieving the Platinum Jubilee!

I sincerely wish our network a bright future and all members fulfilment in their work and life, and goodwill with each other!

Thank you, IMA!

Claudia

PS:

What has Miss Moneypenny and a Management Assistant in common? They both are highly competent, can see around corners, and know that work and life are sometimes a game or film

So, let’s keep cool and collected!

Claudia Ackermann

ackermac@pt.lu

Luxembourg, 17.03.2024