Experience:
Margaret Sammut is an Executive Assistant and Office Manager in our Sydney office. She has been with Omera for twenty years and knows our Partners and clients as well as anyone in the business. We put five questions to Margaret to mark two decades at Omera Partners.
What is your role at Omera Partners and what brought you to executive search?
“I support two Partners, Warren McAuley in Asset Management and Deep Zimmermann in Industrials. I also assist the Board practice by preparing reports for our Board clients, and I oversee the day-to-day operations of the Sydney office, from premises management through to the many other matters that arise. Following a 17-year career at the Commonwealth Bank and a break to raise my family, I joined Omera Partners in 2007 as the firm's first administrator. That role gave me the opportunity to establish and develop our client reporting from the ground up.”
Who do you support and what does it take to keep a search practice running well?
“I firmly believe we should be regarded as Partners rather than Executive Assistants, because in every practical sense we are partners to the Partners. We arrange their business development meetings and help prepare pitch documents, and once a search has been signed off, it’s go time. I work closely with the Partner and the Research Associate to ensure reporting deadlines are met and that our clients and candidates are kept informed at every stage of the search.
There is real satisfaction in receiving positive feedback from clients and candidates who value the effort. A brief note to keep a candidate updated takes only a moment, yet it makes a lasting difference. That candidate leaves the process with a positive impression of the firm, whether or not they secure the role, and that is what matters most.”
What do candidates, clients and colleagues experience when they work with you?
“Clients and candidates can always rely on a prompt response from me. I make a point of never allowing a situation to reach the point of pressure, because anticipation and careful planning are essential. That is why I work closely with the Partner and the Research Associate, ensuring we remain well ahead at every stage. Naturally, the occasional unexpected challenge arises, and when it does, I get onto it promptly and thoroughly, without ever compromising on quality.
Remaining adaptable to the way each Partner prefers to work is central to the role. They value the fact that I understand their priorities and how they operate.”
What do you most enjoy about working at Omera Partners, and what are you most proud of in your work?
“What I most enjoy is being part of our outstanding administration team. While we work in close alignment with our Partners, and by extension the Research Associates, I thoroughly enjoy being part of a group of Executive Assistants who genuinely support one another. I am also increasingly interested in the emergence of AI and how we might best apply it. The human element of executive search will never be replaced, but the direction this technology is heading is something I find genuinely fascinating.
As for the work I am most proud of, after nearly twenty years it is difficult to isolate a single moment, and perhaps that is the point. I have grown alongside Omera Partners, and my colleagues have become something close to family. Together we have shared marriages, children, graduations, and now the experience of empty nesting.”
“To me, greatness is in the little things. In whatever I do, it’s done well.”
What does life look like outside the office?
“Life outside the office is busy at the moment. Between a major home renovation and caring for family, there is little time to spare. I am very much looking forward to quieter days by the pool and evenings beside the fireplace, both of which I’ve never had before.
I follow most sports, particularly AFL, both Rugby codes and cricket, and I look forward to attending more Parramatta Eels and Sydney Swans games, as well as hosting family and friends more regularly once the house is complete. I find the gym a welcome release and regularly attend aquarobics.”
