Executive Assistant of the Week: New York City
Ruth Cardona-Lanni
Executive Assistant to Chief Technology Officer & Data Officer
GS1GLOBAL
Ruth E. Cardona-Lanni is the Executive Assistant to the Global Chief Technology and Data Officer at GS1 Global, a Global Standards organization. With over two decades of experience as an innovative, strategic business partner and executive assistant to various C-Suite individuals, Ruth has worked with top leaders in world-renowned organizations across various sectors. She acts as both an “ambassador” for the firm that she represents and the “intel-inside” for the team that she supports. Ruth has seemingly endless energy, excellent implementation skills, high emotional intelligence, and seamlessly brings joy to any environment into which she is introduced. She is a continuous learner who holds numerous professional certifications from respected institutions, such as the American Management Association, the Project Management Leadership Group, and Toastmasters. Ruth has been an active member of the executive Assistant professional community, both as a mentor and student. She is a wife, proud mother of three sons, loving grandmother, and a woman of faith. In her free time, she enjoys salsa dancing, working out, traveling, and spending quality time with her love ones.
Ruth will be one of the distinguished contributors at the ELS Forum: New York City on June 19-20, 2019
Tell us about a career accomplishment of which you’re particularly proud.
One accomplishment of which I am extremely proud happened during one of the worst hurricanes to hit the Northeast, Super Storm Sandy, during the fall of 2012. My boss, the Global COO, was in London on business when the hurricane made landfall in NJ, where I reside, causing statewide power outages. He sent me a text at 11p.m. Eastern Time, stating that he had to get back to the United States right away. I immediately went into action from my car, charging 2 cell phones, since I did not have electricity. On one phone, I had the emergency travel agency working on finding a flight back. On the other phone, I had reached out to any drivers that would answer at 3a.m. in London, because my boss was staying in a remote area without taxi service. By 2a.m., in the midst of New Jersey’s state of emergency and against the odds, I managed to book a flight, secured a driver to pick him up, and assure safe travel back to the United States. It gives me a sense of quite pride to know that I was able to deliver on this challenging task, under such adverse conditions, when it truly counted.
What is your favorite part about being a strategic business partner to your executive?
My favorite part about being a strategic business partner to my executive is the trust and loyalty that we establish working together, through mutual respect. It’s very gratifying to feel their confidence in me to execute on the many behind-the-scenes tasks that make business run smoothly, as well as to be privy to their vision and the process in making decisions at a leadership level. Perhaps most of all, though, I enjoy seeing their goals and objectives come to fruition through our joint hard work and grit.
Are there any blogs, books, articles, or online forums you recommend reading?
How to Think Like a CEO by D. A Benton
Thinking for Change by John C. Maxwell
Questions are the Answers by Hal Gregersen
Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry & Jean Greaves
How to Win friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
The New Executive Assistant by Melba Duncan
Be the Ultimate Assistant, by Bonnie Low-Kramen
All things Admin, by Julie Perrine – online resource
Administrative Professional Today – Newsletter
