Coutts Day - James Morgan

James, 40, is an executive assistant to the CEO of Coutts, Michael Morley, and lives in Upminster, Essex, with his wife Mary, and children, Matthew, 5, and Sophie-Mae, 18 months.

I usually wake up around 6am to the sound of Sophie-Mae crying for her bottle.  I see to her first before jumping in the shower and dressing in something like my navy pinstripe Hugo Boss suit.  If I have time, I’ll grab a bowl of Rice Krispies, and watch Sky Sports News.  I’m a life-long West Ham supporter so I like to keep up with what’s going on in the football world.

I aim to be out of the house before seven, before the rest of the house wakes up.   Mary or my mother-in-law does the school run on most mornings before heading to work.

Upminster is a great town to live.  We’re quite near to the local shops and the station, which is handy, but we’re also close to the countryside and great schools which makes it a nice place to bring Matthew and Sophie-Mae up.

I get the overground train to Fenchurch Street, and after a couple of stops on the Tube, I’m at Coutts’ head office, 440 Strand, just before 8am.  By the time I get to my desk, I’ve already checked my Blackberry for urgent emails and actions so I know what the day’s priorities are.  I also make a point of going through Michael’s diary to ensure I know what’s going to come up.

Saying that though, most days are very reactive.  I receive a huge amount of emails, and people are constantly coming to see Michael or I.  Anything can appear in my inbox.  In my previous role, as an intranet manager, all my emails would be about the intranet, but in this job, they can be about any aspect of the business, whether that’s Finance, Risk, HR, or even a client complaint.

These are always dealt with as a priority, as are emails from the divisional CEO (Michael’s boss) and the RBS group CEO’s office.

I leave Michael’s diary in the safe hands of his PA Tegi Daywood. She organises exactly where Michael needs to be and how he is going to get there, while I produce the papers for his meetings and ensure he has all the information he needs.  This could involve researching a client he is meeting with or getting the latest sales figures for his weekly management meetings.

Although I’ve been an EA for four months, I still find I am learning new things all the time. The thing I most enjoy is the vantage point I have on the whole business.  I’ve gained a real in-depth knowledge of Coutts, which I didn’t get in my previous role.  I get a high level view of everything that happens here in the division and in the wider RBS group.

And it’s because of that, most people expect I know everything from how to book a room to the finer points of the business strategy.  What I’ve learnt with time is that clearly I don’t always know the answers, but there is always someone in the business that does.  I just have to track them down. 

People like to sound off to me because I have the inside track to Michael.  It can be a bit like being an agony aunt at times, but it does work the other way as well.  If I need some information for Michael urgently, different areas of the business turn it around quickly for me.

Pressure comes with this job, but I’ve learnt that I can cope, even though it’s making my hair turn grey!  I want to be more organised and get my work/life balance in check but surely that will happen with more experience.

I try to leave work by about six o’clock to be home in time to bath the children.  Then I’ll read Matthew a bedtime story.  He loves the Disney classics.  Once they’re off to bed, Mary and I will sit down to dinner, usually with a glass of wine or two, to unwind.

After washing up, we usually chill on the sofa and end up watching TV or an action movie, before one of us dozes off.  We’re hardly ever in bed before midnight.  But it doesn’t take me long to drift off before the start of another day.

Words by Rupa Sudra