Experienced support from someone who genuinely cares about your business
I have spent more than 35 years working alongside directors, senior leaders and business owners, often as their right-hand person. I’m usually the person quietly keeping everything organised, noticing what has been missed and making sure the important things actually get done.
I genuinely love helping people. It is what I have always done, both professionally and personally. There is something very rewarding about taking a situation that feels overwhelming, bringing some order to it and helping someone feel that they are back in control.
Thank you for taking the time to learn a little more about me and the story behind ExecProVA.
Carol
Why I started ExecProVA
Before starting the business, I spent many years working in senior executive support roles.
Although I worked incredibly hard and cared deeply about doing a good job, there were times when I felt that my experience and contribution were not properly valued. I knew I had much more to offer, and I wanted to use that experience to support people in a way that felt more personal and worthwhile.
So, I created ExecProVA.
I wanted to build the kind of business I would choose to work with myself. One that is honest, dependable and straightforward, where people do what they say they are going to do and genuinely care about the standard of their work.
Those values are very important to me. I believe trust has to be earned, and once someone places that trust in me, I take it seriously.
I’m much more than someone who completes a task list
I have never been someone who simply waits to be told what to do.
When I work with you, I take the time to understand you, your business and the way you prefer to work. I look at the bigger picture, use common sense and try to anticipate what needs to happen next.
I will put myself in your shoes and think about what would make your working day easier. That might mean organising a complicated inbox, following up outstanding actions, improving a process or spotting something that could become a problem if it is left.
I’m also honest. If I think something could be handled more effectively, I will tell you, but always respectfully and with your best interests in mind.
My clients often tell me that they feel calmer knowing I have their back. For me, that is one of the most rewarding parts of the work I do.
The experience I bring to your business
My executive support career began in the 1980s and has taken me from South Africa to the UK, working with directors and senior teams across operations, financial services, human resources, marketing and technical environments.
Before founding ExecProVA, I spent more than 14 years supporting the Head of Operations within a major financial services business.
My work included managing complex diaries and inboxes, arranging meetings, coordinating international travel and visa applications, organising events for up to 500 people, preparing agendas and documents, handling expenses and working with confidential information.
Throughout my career, I have also supported directors with proofreading and editing, accessible large-print transcription, business writing, presentations, research, project coordination and the everyday organisation that keeps a busy operation running properly. Technology has changed enormously since I began my career, and I have changed with it. I now use tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft Copilot and other digital platforms to help improve processes, manage information and make administrative work more efficient.
The technology can help us work faster, but experience, judgement, confidentiality and human understanding still matter. Those are the things I bring to every client relationship.
What you can expect from me
I want you to feel comfortable handing work over and confident that it will be dealt with properly.
When we work together, you can expect me to be:
Honest and straightforward
Warm, approachable and easy to talk to
Reliable and organised
Calm when things become busy
Discreet with sensitive and confidential information
Proactive rather than waiting to be prompted
Willing to ask questions when something is unclear
Personally invested in doing a good job
I care about the people I work with and want to see them do well. However, I have also learned that the best working relationships need clear expectations, mutual respect and sensible boundaries.
I work best with honest, fair and trustworthy people who value experience and understand that good support is a professional partnership.
Support shaped around you
Every business owner is different, so I do not believe in forcing everyone into exactly the same way of working.
You may need regular executive support, help with a particular project or someone to bring some order to the tasks that have been sitting unfinished for far too long.
I will start by listening to what is happening in your business, what is taking up your time and what you would most like to hand over. We can then agree what support you need and how we will work together.
That support might include:
Executive inbox and diary management
Meeting preparation, summaries and action tracking
Project coordination and deadline management
Business administration and operational organisation
Professional correspondence, copywriting and editing
Research, presentations and document preparation
Process improvement and task management
AI-assisted administrative and operational systems
Liaising with your clients, suppliers and team
You will have an agreed scope of work, tracked time and clear arrangements from the beginning, so we both understand what is included.
A little about the ExecProVA team Although ExecProVA is my business and I remain personally involved, I also work with a small network of carefully selected associates. Sometimes a client needs additional capacity or a particular technical or creative skill. When that happens, I can bring in someone with the right experience while continuing to oversee the work and make sure it meets the standard I expect. I do not choose people based on skills alone. They also need to be reliable, honest, professional and willing to use their initiative. I will always be open with you about who is completing your work. Nothing will be handed over to somebody else without the right conversations and arrangements being in place.
Why supporting other virtual assistants matters to me
As well as supporting clients, I care deeply about helping other virtual assistants develop their own businesses.
When I started ExecProVA, I did not always know whose advice I could trust. I spent money on services and programmes that did not give me the value or results I had expected.
I learned some difficult and expensive lessons.
That experience made me want to help other VAs avoid making the same mistakes. I want them to understand their value, ask the right questions and make better-informed decisions about where they invest their time and money.
I believe people deserve honest guidance, not exaggerated promises or another sales pitch.
Would we work well together?
ExecProVA is best suited to established business owners, founders and directors who are ready to delegate and want an experienced person they can trust.
We are likely to work well together if you:
Value honesty, reliability and discretion
Want someone who can think as well as complete tasks
Are happy to communicate openly
Respect agreed working arrangements and professional boundaries
Are ready to commit to an agreed package of support
Want someone who will genuinely care about your business
Let’s have a conversation
If you are spending too much time dealing with administration, chasing unfinished actions or trying to keep everything in your head, I would be very happy to talk to you.
We can discuss what is happening in your business, where you need help and whether ExecProVA would be the right fit.
There will be no complicated sales pitch. It will simply be an honest conversation about what you need and whether I can help.