A woman and a dog taking a close-up selfie outdoors on a cloudy day.

I am Annika

An executive assistant by profession, and a trusted partner by nature. For over 20 years, I’ve supported senior leaders across industries and continents, from fast-moving tech environments to international media and boutique consulting firms. What drives me is simple: I love helping great people do meaningful work with less stress and more clarity. Whether I’m managing a packed calendar, being a sparring partner to  executive team members, coordinating global projects, helping to hire the right support staff, or planning team and management events — I bring calm, care, and a deep understanding of what leaders need to thrive.  
Originally from Germany and now based in Italy, I combine international experience having worked in Germany, the US and the UK with a heartfelt commitment to making work feel just a little lighter for the people I support. 
I live in beautiful Taormina with my husband of 21 years and our spirited Shiba Inu girl. In my free time, I’m usually doting on our pup, diving into the world of canine behavior, or working toward finishing my book on Hawaiian history — a true passion project. I’m also enjoying discovering Sicily, the island we now call home, and learning Italian one conversation at a time.

Resume

  • Senior Executive Assistant to Directors Amazon Fresh Stores International; London (UK); 09/21-07/22
    Senior Executive Assistant to VP Alexa Experience; Seattle (USA); 08/20-09/21
    Senior Executive Assistant to VP Amazon Logistics; Bellevue (USA); 03/20-07/20

    • Managed strategic annual calendar and travel planning in each role for VP and Director offices, with at times 25+ VP, SVP and CEO offices as well as stakeholders in the various Amazon businesses involved. This included collaboration and ownership of logistical details for high profile SVP visits to Europe in the London-based role.

    • Acted as each managers’ main point of contact and liaison with all internal stakeholders, such as finance, legal, HR, communications, security, incident management, global real estate, and other departments.

    • Drove each departments’ various delivery goal trackers to help keeping teams accountable for goals promised to leadership.

    • Performed lead executive assistant duties for a team of at times 19 executive assistants, including training, hiring and dotted-line performance management in Europe and the USA.

    • Managed all of the relevant office processes in each role.
      Owned space planning for several departments including building moves and return to office planning after the pandemic.

    • Performed company-wide bar raiser duties in Europe and the US, mainly within AWS business unit.

  • Senior Executive Assistant to Country Manager; 06/14-03/20

    • Managed strategic annual calendar and travel planning for German VP Country Manager, including regular collaboration with international VP and SVP offices as well as stakeholders in the various Amazon businesses.

    • This included collaboration and ownership of logistical details for high profile SVP and CEO visits to Europe.

    • Owned driving various delivery goal trackers to help keeping the management team accountable for goals promised to EU and US senior leadership.

    • Owned written communication on behalf of the German Country Manager, and proof-read all press and public policy related content.

    • Acted as gatekeeper for all requests to the office of the German Country Manager, and as the main point of contact with executive customer service and executive seller support teams. Functioned as main liaison with incident management, security, and global real estate and facilities teams for all German campus matters.

    • Managed all of the relevant office processes for German VP Country Manager.

    • Solely owned organization of the German office’s largest social events: annual summer party and annual Oktoberfest visit, including budget responsibility of EUR 500.000. Co-owned organization of German office’s quarterly All Hands event.

    • Performed lead executive assistant duties for the German Executive Assistant community, including training, hiring and dotted-line performance management, driving and collaborating with all Munich office buildings’ space planning and building management teams. Created and drove the German EA community learning series to foster in-depth understanding of and learning about all aspects of the global Amazon concern within the community.

  • Executive Assistant to Directors Media & Consumables Germany; 08/13-05/14

    • Managed strategic annual calendar and travel planning for Director Media and Director Consumables, including regular collaboration with local and EU stakeholders in the various Amazon businesses.

    • Owned driving various delivery goal trackers to help keeping teams accountable for leadership goals.

    • Owned organization of German Vendor Days showcasing the fulfillment processes to the most important vendors in Media department.

    • Managed team move (80 in department plus adjacent teams) to newly opened building on Amazon HQ campus.

  • Executive Assistant; Munich (GER); 12/12-07/13
    Executive Assistant; Stuttgart (GER); 02/12-09/12

    • Prepared and reviewed client interviews, presentations, confidential and reference reports as well as detailed proposals within the Industrial (Munich) and International Tech & Comms (Stuttgart) practice groups. Acted as sparring partner for consultant.

    • Maintained the company’s executive candidate database.

    • Acted as first point of contact for executive clients and candidates. Provided administrative and travel support to consultants and candidates.

  • Executive Assistant to VP Hardlines Germany; 10/10-01/12

    • Managed strategic annual calendar and travel planning for VP Hardlines, including regular collaboration with local and EU stakeholders in the various Amazon businesses.

    • Owned meeting minutes and action items for the weekly staff and functions meetings in both Consumer Electronics and Home Living sub-departments.

    • Prepared and reviewed presentations for international business partners as well as internal training sessions.

    • Owned the annual planning and approval process for restricted trade fair visits including collaborating with finance department.

    • Fully owned and drove the departments quarterly all hands meetings. Provided administrative and travel support.

  • Executive Assistant to Managing Director; 07/08-09/10

    • Managed administrative processes with LATAM sub-distributor including monitoring of sales, due diligence of contracts and cash processes.

    • For international TV program fairs MIPTV and MIPCOM owned final editing of bi-annual sales catalogue, acted as stand-in sales representative, and created extensive program look-book used by sales representatives.

    • Provided back office support for Managing Director’s sales areas UK and USA. Provided classic administrative support.

  • Executive Assistant; 10/06-06/08

    • Prepared information memos, term sheets and mandate agreements for managing partners.

    • Owned monthly invoice process and month-end closing statements in collaboration with tax consultancy.

    • Provided classic administrative support to 3 partner consultants.

  • Office Manager and Secretary; 07/04-09/06

    • Programmed extensive Microsoft Access database to replace existing time-management software (RA Micro) for all the firm’s lawyers.

    • Managed personnel files and business accounts.

    • Coordinated workflows with temporary staff and third-party services.

    • Provided administrative support to sole partner in the firm.

  • Personal Assistant to CEO; 08/2002-07/2004

    • Prepared management board and supervisory board presentations and performed representative duties at annual general meeting.

    • Provided classic administrative support including correspondence, calendar and international travel management to the CEO.