Rika Tanaka is Executive Administrative Assistant at Applied Materials, and in her nearly three decades at the company, she has built a reputation as a consummate learner. She is a member and leader in the company's Quality in Administration (QIA) organization, continually partners with functional teams to keep apprised of the latest and greatest methods in technologies, methodologies and practices, and consistently exceeds the annual training requirements by identifying ways to bolster critical skills such as communication, problem-solving, project management and leadership. But Rika’s not just an incredible student – every day, she teaches others what it means to live the company’s core values. She is a committed, proactive and responsive partner to her leader’s needs; collaborates closely with other Executive Assistants across business groups to gain alignment and train and share best practices to enable flawless execution; and goes above and beyond without complaint or hesitation when challenging situations arise. Whether internally or externally, Rika always leaves people feeling good about their interaction with her and Applied Materials in general.

As Business Manager at Granite Construction, Jodie Leemann manages 13 administrators as her direct reports and despite the superstitious number, the group counts themselves as nothing but lucky to have Jodie as their superhero supervisor. To say she’s one-of-a-kind is literally true – the Business Manager position was created for Jodie to recognize her unique contributions to Granite. Jodie excels at everything, from approval reviews of all construction subcontracts and billings to journal entry and credit card expense reviews to salaried time coding, cash sheet processing and fuel audits. Even with all of her assigned responsibilities, she never turns down a request for help and is a stranger to the phrase “that’s not in my job description.” Jodie is a no-nonsense, practical problem solver who has high expectations for her team and herself. She consistently models the company values and her nearly four decades of work ethic and dedication have helped make Granite what it is today.

In her role as Executive Assistant at Logitech, Elisabeth Hamon brings passion, integrity, hard work and valuable insights to everything she does. In her 16 years assisting vice presidents, executive vice presidents in the Enterprise Software industry, and now the chief executive officer and board of directors for Logitech, Elisabeth’s creative mind, positive spirit and maturity have allowed her to embrace challenges and transform them into opportunities to go above and beyond for her teams. As an example, she built a career development program for women to improve gender diversity and increase confidence, visibility and leadership skills. Elisabeth never tires of adding to her day-to-day responsibilities, volunteering for special assignments whenever they arise. For instance, she conceived, designed and facilitated workshops to expand enterprise software developers’ understanding of end-user needs and abilities on the topics of design thinking, gamification and desirability. Elisabeth truly understands the value Admins bring to a company and has made it her mission to unlock the power of the profession.

Donna Capriotti is Senior Executive Assistant, Operations, at Nutanix, although a more appropriate title might be Wonder Woman. She is a true partner to the executives that she supports, not only ensuring that schedules and priorities are set, but also providing expertise on large projects and initiatives and proactively taking on special projects. Donna also serves as a sounding board to her leaders as they weigh choices and actions. Though she already has too many strengths to enumerate, Donna constantly looks for ways to improve her own performance and output, and regularly provides improved versions of the processes and tasks that she manages. The most amazing part is that she makes it all look so easy – the sense of confidence that the Nutanix team feels knowing that Donna has all the bases covered is immeasurable. Through a combination of passion, innovation and openness to new ideas, Donna truly allows all those who work with her to thrive.

As an Administrative Assistant at Applied Materials, Nuria Root epitomizes energy, demonstrating a perseverance, ownership and can-do attitude that inspires all those who interact with her. In addition to expertly planning and executing service and birthday recognitions, Nuria volunteers every year to be team captain for the company’s annual charity contribution event, arranging a series of daily activities over four weeks to bring awareness to the local food bank and the needs of the community and to coordinate the collection of contributions. In fact, there’s nothing that seems to be outside the scope of her desk. Nuria is a team player who conveys approachability and friendliness and always keeps employees engaged and morale high. As a supporter of the Veterans Employee Resource Group, she helps prior military employees transition into the Applied Materials environment while also assisting local veteran support groups in the community. It’s no wonder her team says it would be impossible to ask for a better Admin.

Biography – Debbie Gross