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EXCELLENCE.

AMBITION.

CONNECTION.

 

Ascend Eight APAC is an 8-week curated peer development program for high-performing Executive Assistants, Executive Business Partners, Chiefs of Staff and senior support professionals operating at the top of their field.

The inaugural APAC cohort brings together eight carefully selected participants for live coaching, practical frameworks, honest peer discussion and intimate access to experienced leaders and practitioners. Facilitated by Trinity James, Career Advisor, EA development specialist and APAC Lead for EA How To, the program combines live coaching, practical career frameworks, peer discussion and intimate Office Hours with experienced leaders and practitioners.

This is not another course to watch in the background while your inbox distracts you.

It is a small, high-trust room for people who already understand the demands of elite support, and want to develop professionally alongside true peers.

Inaugural APAC cohort begins August 2026.
Founding member price: $1,400 AUD.
Places capped at 8.

MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA

WHAT ASCEND EIGHT IS

Ascend Eight exists for support professionals who carry extraordinary responsibility, discretion and judgement in roles that are often difficult to explain to anyone outside them.

At this level, the work is rarely “just admin”.

It is managing access, protecting focus, reading risk, navigating personalities, preserving confidentiality, creating order, anticipating problems and keeping powerful people and complex organisations moving.

Ascend Eight is built around the belief that the right peer room changes everything.

Participants are placed in a deliberately small cohort with people operating at a similar level, so the conversations are relevant, practical and immediately useful. The new APAC program follows an 8-week progression through clarity, confidence, influence and progression, supported by live coaching, practical tools, reflection and three Office Hours sessions with experienced leaders and practitioners.

Membership Criteria

Ascend Eight is designed for high-performing support professionals who are already trusted with significant responsibility and want to develop alongside peers who understand the reality of operating at this level.

Applications are reviewed individually. This is not a tick-box process, and it is not based on title alone.

We consider a range of factors including role scope, reporting structure, professional journey, level of responsibility, discretion required, career goals and the value each participant will bring to the cohort.

Title

The most commonly held titles for this program include:

Executive Assistant, Executive Business Partner, Executive Personal Assistant, Senior Executive Assistant, Chief of Staff, Personal Assistant and senior support roles.

Titles vary across organisations, industries and countries. We look beyond the wording of your title to understand the level at which you are operating.

Industry, Company Size & Maturity

The APAC cohort is curated to include a strong mix of industries, organisation types and professional backgrounds.

Participants may support leaders in corporate, private office, founder-led, government, not-for-profit, tech, finance, professional services, family office or high-profile environments.

The aim is not to make everyone the same.

The aim is to bring together people who understand the level of responsibility, discretion and judgement required in high-level support roles, while offering different perspectives and experience.

Salary

Many participants in Ascend Eight are likely to be earning a salary that reflects significant experience and responsibility.

That said, salary alone does not determine suitability.

We understand that compensation varies by geography, organisation type, industry and role structure. If you are operating at a high level but are unsure whether you meet the criteria, we encourage you to apply.

Reporting Structure

Ascend Eight APAC is designed for people who support senior leaders, founders, board members, high-profile principals, UHNWIs or complex executive teams.

You may support one principal, multiple executives, a board, a founder, a family office, or a leadership team.

The common thread is that your role requires judgement, discretion, influence and the ability to operate with a high degree of trust.

Direct Reports

Some participants may manage administrative teams, household staff, project teams or other support professionals.

This is not essential.

What matters more is the scope of your role, the level of trust placed in you, and the contribution you can make to the cohort.

Professional Journey

Professional journey includes your current role, previous experience, scope of responsibility, exposure to complex environments, future aspirations and the level of insight you can bring to the group.

Ascend Eight APAC is designed for people who are already good at what they do, and want the right environment to keep developing.

Not a networking group. Not a content library. A room.

Meet Your Facilitator

Ascend Eight APAC is facilitated by Trinity James, Career Advisor, EA development specialist and APAC Lead for EA How To.

Across the eight weeks, Trinity will lead the weekly live coaching sessions, facilitate peer discussion, introduce practical frameworks, host the Office Hours guests and help participants apply the work directly to their roles.

Her work focuses on helping high-performing EAs articulate their value, strengthen their influence and build more intentional, sustainable careers.

What will I get from Ascend Eight?

Ascend Eight combines curated peer connection, live coaching, practical implementation and direct access to expert voices across the profession.

The program runs over eight weeks and moves through four phases: clarity, confidence, influence and progression. Each week includes live facilitation, practical tools, reflective exercises and applied work participants can use immediately in their own roles.

Connections

The cohort is capped at eight participants.

This is where the program gets its spine.

You will be developing alongside a small group of high-performing support professionals who understand the level of responsibility, discretion and complexity that comes with elite support roles.

The group is designed to create honest conversation, practical insight and genuine peer support.

The kind where you do not have to explain why one sentence in an email can detonate an entire Tuesday.

Live Coaching & Practical Frameworks

Each week includes a 90-minute live group coaching session via Zoom.

The sessions are designed to help you reflect, discuss, apply and act. This is professional development with structure, not a pile of PDFs gathering dust in a digital cupboard.

You will work through practical frameworks covering:

Professional vision and direction
Value, strengths and strategic positioning
Executive presence and personal brand
Communication, influence and managing up
Focus, boundaries and role design
Visibility, networking and opportunity creation
Negotiation, flexibility and career progression
Your 12-month ascension plan

Office Hours & Expert Access

Across the program, Trinity will host three intimate Office Hours sessions with experienced leaders and practitioners. These sessions are designed to give the cohort direct access to high-level perspectives, while keeping the conversation practical, relevant and connected to the work participants are doing across the program.

They are small Q&A sessions designed around real questions from the cohort.

Office Hours guests include:

Alicia Fairclough
Founder, EA How To / Ascend Eight

Anu Lamba
Country Head of Operations, Amazon

Sam Cox
Executive Assistant to Sir Richard Branson

Participants can submit questions in advance and ask questions live.

Peer Development

Ascend Eight is built on the idea that professional growth is stronger when it happens in the right room.

You will learn from the facilitator, the frameworks, the Office Hours guests and the other participants.

That peer element matters.

High-level support work can be isolating. Confidentiality, complexity and proximity to power can make it hard to find people who genuinely understand what your role requires.

Ascend Eight gives you that room.

Vetted participants.

Curated peer development.

Live coaching.

Access to experts.

How does it work?

Ascend Eight runs over eight weeks.

Each week, you will attend a 90-minute live group coaching session via Zoom. Between sessions, you will complete practical tools, templates and reflection exercises designed to help you apply the work inside your actual role.

The program follows this journey:

Week 1: Vision and Strategic Focus
Define what success looks like on your terms and clarify where you are heading.

Week 2: Value, Strengths and Leverage
Identify your highest-value contributions and connect them to business outcomes.

Week 3: Personal Brand and Executive Presence
Build a stronger professional narrative and executive-level introduction.

Office Hours: Alicia Fairclough

Week 4: Communication, Influence and Managing Up
Strengthen your ability to influence, communicate and navigate complex executive dynamics.

Week 5: Focus, Boundaries and Role Design
Review how your role is operating and protect time for higher-value work.

Week 6: Visibility, Networking and Opportunity Creation
Build a more intentional network and visibility strategy.

Office Hours: Anu Lamba

Week 7: Negotiation, Flexibility and Career Progression
Prepare for conversations around salary, scope, flexibility and advancement.

Week 8: Professional Development and Your Ascension Plan
Build your personalised 12-month roadmap and identify your highest-leverage next actions.

Closing Office Hours: Sam Cox

By the end of the program, participants leave with practical career tools, stronger peer connection, a clearer professional narrative and a 12-month ascension plan. The expected outcomes in the program framework include a personalised vision, executive-level introduction, communication strategies, visibility plan, negotiation framework and ascension roadmap.

Apply Now

Applications are now open for the inaugural Ascend Eight APAC cohort, beginning August 2026.

The cohort is capped at 8 participants.

Applications are reviewed individually to ensure the group is made up of true peers who will benefit from, and contribute to, the room.

There is no payment required unless your application is accepted.

Founding member price:
$1,400 AUD

Usual price:
$2,800 AUD

Complete the application form here.

Harness the power of community, connection & experience. 

Bring together what you know with who understands it.

Ascend Eight APAC is for high-performing support professionals who want to develop in a small, carefully curated room of true peers, with expert support and practical frameworks designed for the realities of elite support.

The inaugural APAC cohort begins August 2026.

Places are capped at 8.

Apply Now