At the end of 2013 we will be saying a very fond farewell to a lynchpin in our organisation – Phillippa Goodwin.

Phillippa has been my right-hand, my wing-woman and my trusted virtual P.A. for 5 years and during that time we have seen her business, Essential PA, grow from a team of one to a fully-fledged enterprise.

It is with great personal regret that I have to accept that “P” now has to ascend another step up Maslow’s Hierarchy and seek new challenges in her career and her business.

I am proud that I may have been, in some small measure, a catalyst in her evolution.

There will be time in due course to celebrate her role in my businesses and her unflinching loyalty and commitment to me personally – a hard act to follow.

But follow we must – and so there is a new opportunity at 7connections from 1st January 2014 – as Chris Barrow’s and the 7c’s team’s virtual personal assistant.

A conversation with Phillippa will reveal all as to what that feels like – the laughter, the tears, the inspiration and the frustration – of keeping me on the straight and narrow, of liaising with our clients, our suppliers, our strategic alliance partners and, perhaps most challenging, of organising my travel, my accommodation, my meetings, my working dinners, my phone calls and my ever-busy schedule.

The qualities of the successful candidate will, I hope, be obvious (if you have to ask – don’t).

I’m looking for another super-human to stand in Phillippa’s footprints and continue the tradition of excellent feedback from all those with whom she connects.

If you know of a suitable candidate, please email phillippa@essentialpa.co.uk