In the first episode of our Colleagues Unite 2021 campaign we talk to Ben Stevenson, Executive Assistant to CEO, Managing Director and Commercial Director at Bloom Procurement Services.
The topic? How we can support and raise the profile of our male colleagues within the Business Support industry.
Hosted by our Founder Jess, they both deep dive into Bens experience as an EA and understand how we can all create immediate and easy to implement opportunities to support our existing male assistants and show how being a PA is a viable career choice for everyone – men and women!
The disproportion of men vs. women within the business support industry is ongoing and outdated gender stereotypes remain a large part of how we are identified as a profession. Automatic assumptions on sexual orientation, unjustified theories on lack of ability in the role and confusion as to why individuals have chosen this career path are just some of the issues our male colleagues face on a daily basis.
About Ben
Leaving college in 2008 Ben joined a fast-track management programme which opened the door to opportunities at Tesco, Next and HSBC whilst he also volunteered as Special Police Officer for Devon & Cornwall Police.
In 2013, he moved from Cornwall to Exeter where he joined uCheck, a pre-employment vetting and screening provider, initially as their Customer Services Manager but was quickly promoted to Operations Manger. It was here that he gained his first real taste of working side by side with Executives and where his passion for c-suite support took off.
4 years on he moved to London and joined Globeleq, an independent power producer solely focused on the African energy market. As their new Office Manager he quickly took on the support of the Chief HR Officer. A career highlight for him at Globeleq was acting as lead organiser for their delegation to the African Energy Forum in Mauritius in 2018.
In 2019, he moved up to Newcastle to join Gateshead based Bloom Procurement Services supporting the Executive Chairman, Adam Jacobs, a London based entrepreneur. By September he had taken on the additional support of Managing Director, Adam Crampsie soon followed by Commercial Director, Jen Cassidy. He has been involved with building the company growth strategy as well as the strategic planning for 2021 and enjoys the ability he has to make a personal impact on the plans for Bloom.
About Colleagues Unite
The Assistant Room Colleagues Unite campaign was established in August 2020 to serve a clear purpose of bringing new representation and shining a light on minorities within the Business Support industry.
Throughout this campaign we will be introducing you to assistants around the world who face a daily battle to achieve equality or who are seen as unlikely success stories due to industry stereotypes