Alia Bigler
Atlanta,USA
Summary
A consummate professional, with an eye for quality and detail and a leadership style that focuses and motivates employees to perform to their fullest capacity.
Overview
27
27
years of professional experience
Work History
Assistant Services Operations Manager
McKinsey and Company, Inc.
04.2023 - Current
- Collaborate with the EA Manager to lead the Executive Assistant team, emphasizing community cohesion, innovation, and strategic alignment
- Assist EA team with project management, and provide guidance in challenging situations and discussions
- Mentor, coach, and manage Team Leaders to ensure consistent and exceptional service delivery by Executive Assistants, conducting timely performance evaluations for all team members
- Engage with leadership by driving and participating in both departmental and external initiatives
- Establish and sustain a dynamic, high-performing work atmosphere aligned with the Firm's values, fostering collaboration, teamwork, and a service-oriented mindset
- Develop action plans for improvement, oversee the implementation, and manage ongoing efforts for continuous improvement activities
- Lead recruitment efforts to ensure appropriate staffing levels, match qualified candidates with local needs, and contribute to hiring decisions
- Ensure proper staffing of all EA assignments, balancing desks to appropriate ratios and workloads.
Manager of Location Services – Midtown Union
McKinsey and Company, Inc.
09.2022 - 04.2023
- Collaborate closely with the Global Real Estate team, Firm Security, HR, IT, and various leadership to shape and implement the vision for the future office workspace
- Contribute to creating a dynamic and collaborative work environment that promotes innovation in customer support
- Coach and develop team members to collaborate
- Forecast space requirements to support any changes in space and lease negotiations
- Lead ongoing community-building efforts
- Organize and oversee large, sitewide events, social and other connectivity-based efforts.
Learning Specialist
McKinsey and Company, Inc.
01.2021 - 09.2022
- Help develop learning strategy and plans, including defining learning needs, forecasting demand for future programs, developing learning calendar, and providing input to program objectives
- Manage program delivery to include One Firm Onboarding
- Qualifying candidates, recruiting faculty, taking an active role in pre- and post-program outreach, overseeing logistics, serving as host/producer, and collecting/evaluating participant feedback
- Onboard new and/or junior members to the team; provide team coaching
- Collaborate with learning professionals in other cells/regions and Firm to drive content design, leverage existing content, share best practices.
SoHo Operations Manager
McKinsey and Company, Inc.
04.2015 - 01.2021
- Manage daily seating assignments, conference room space and office sharing for incumbent and visiting Firm members, short-term, and mobility assignments within the SoHo space
- Oversee supply inventory (e.g., office supplies, snacks and drinks, printer toner, IT parts), including processing purchase orders
- Maintain physical space, including supervising internal staff, external contractors, vendors, and suppliers, monitoring contracts for compliance, and performing quality control inspections
- Coordinate outsourced building services where applicable, including janitorial, copy machines and security
- Work with Firm Real Estate and cell leadership in acquisition of space and lease requirements
- Oversee construction efforts, including working with Firm Real Estate to negotiate architect/construction contracts, managing the budget, leading design team, and supervising build out
- Manage effective use of physical space, including assisting in space planning, updating floor plans, seating charts, and maintaining a wait list of incoming colleagues
- Create and schedule onsite community building activities for SoHo colleagues
- Manage the new hire on-boarding process for colleagues to acclimate them to our SOHO processes & ensuring a successful “day one” integration
- Work with the McKinsey mobility department to manage the nuances for colleagues transferring to Atlanta from other McKinsey offices.
Convention Services Manager
Omni Hotel at CNN Center
12.2010 - 04.2015
- Manage assigned groups during pre-convention planning to on-site, to include all meeting logistics, managing food and beverage revenue, room block management, VIP amenities, group billing, arrival & departure patterns, transportation and group resumes
- Assist in site visits during the sales process and planning process
- Manage groups with attendance up to 1,000 people with budgets reaching $1 million in total revenue
- Coordinate with outside vendors as needed for groups regarding décor, entertainment and exhibits
- Awarded Leader of the First Quarter 2013.
Event Services Manager
Mansion on Forsyth Park
11.2005 - 12.2010
- Coordinate all client service needs including catering, audio visual and information technology
- Strive to increase the company’s revenue by up selling all facets of the group events
- Solicitation of Savannah area businesses for day meetings with catering needs
- Prepare banquet event orders and resumes for the client and distribution to all appropriate departments
- Welcome the onsite contact; review all details in a pre-convention meeting
- Execute billing and payment in a timely manner
- Achieved 133% of my yearly goal for 2007 and 106% for 2008.
Group Sales Coordinator
Mansion on Forsyth Park
11.2004 - 11.2005
- Opening team of AAA Four Diamond luxury boutique hotel
- Supported a four-member sales team
- Received inquiries for corporate group events
- Merged the sales contracts
- Handled turnover process from sales to all appropriate departments
- Checked daily show rooms for site inspections
- Managed shipping and receiving for the executive office
- Prepared marketing mailers
- Scheduled travel for sales team
- Met with clients on behalf of the team
- Managed the executive office which included sales, catering, reservations and accounting
- Administrative support to the General Manager
- Awarded Grand Performer of the Month, July 2005.
Legal Assistant to Partner
Niederer Kraft & Frey
01.2003 - 10.2004
- Managed and archived client files
- Handled phone calls, messages and teleconferences
- Organized and filed all correspondence
- Worked extensively on large company acquisition and share purchase agreements
- Transcribed dictation and prepared in final form
- Inputted attorney data entry (Solution) and prepared client invoices
- Prioritized attorney incoming emails and notified according to importance
- Coordinated schedule daily
- Responsible for payment allocation of attorney’s personal expenses.
Marketing Assistant
Mintz Levin Et Al
01.2001 - 05.2002
- Planned special events and seminars
- Organized photo sessions for attorneys
- Compiled marketing materials for tailored RFPs (Request For Proposal)
- Manager of the firm marketing index
- Proofread firm website and intranet daily
- Coordinated and edited attorney bios
- Handled mass mailing materials to internal support staff
- Input contact information for firm mailing lists database using Elite software
- Managed supervisors heavy phone volume and teleconferencing as well as their expense reports
- Organized travel.
Legal Assistant
Baker & McKenzie
08.1997 - 12.2000
- Assistant in a unique and fast-paced team of eight international tax attorneys in the Zurich office of the largest law firm worldwide
- Transcribed dictation and prepared in final form
- Organized travel, conferences and seminars, and other various meetings
- Lead person in the organization and smooth running of the Zurich office’s Annual International Tax and Trust Training Program in Montreux, Switzerland
- Assisted in the high volume preparation of invoices for this fast-growing team of lawyers.
Education
KV Zurich Business School
Zurich, SwitzerlandSkills
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Teamwork
- Leadership
- Time Management
- Organization
- Adaptability
- Dependability
- Strong work ethic
- Flexibility
- Attention to detail
- Self-motivated
- Professional
Languages
German
Native or Bilingual
Timeline
Assistant Services Operations Manager
McKinsey and Company, Inc.
04.2023 - Current
Manager of Location Services – Midtown Union
McKinsey and Company, Inc.
09.2022 - 04.2023
Learning Specialist
McKinsey and Company, Inc.
01.2021 - 09.2022
SoHo Operations Manager
McKinsey and Company, Inc.
04.2015 - 01.2021
Convention Services Manager
Omni Hotel at CNN Center
12.2010 - 04.2015
Event Services Manager
Mansion on Forsyth Park
11.2005 - 12.2010
Group Sales Coordinator
Mansion on Forsyth Park
11.2004 - 11.2005
Legal Assistant to Partner
Niederer Kraft & Frey
01.2003 - 10.2004
Marketing Assistant
Mintz Levin Et Al
01.2001 - 05.2002
Legal Assistant
Baker & McKenzie
08.1997 - 12.2000
KV Zurich Business School