Her Story
About Olivia
Olivia Houston is an experienced executive and administrative support professional with a background in calendar management, travel coordination, expense processing, office operations, and customer service. She currently serves as an Executive Assistant at Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation, where she has worked since 2022 supporting the Chief Information Officer and other chief-level executives with organizational tasks, departmental updates, and event planning. Previously, she supported senior leadership at Amedisys in the hospice healthcare industry for two years and held an administrative assistant role at Captain D's restaurant chain for three to four years. Her earlier experience spans customer-facing roles that honed her organizational skills. Olivia holds a high school degree and completed one year of college coursework in paralegal studies, which she credits with strengthening her attention to confidentiality and detail in support roles. She volunteers with United Way and attributes her success to a genuine passion for her work, emphasizing values of integrity, accountability, respect, and reliability. She advises young women entering the field to jump in without fear and to identify and excel in their specific strengths while navigating technological changes like AI.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Olivia
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to genuinely loving what I do. There's just so many career paths you can take, but not everyone can truly say they're passionate about the work that they currently do. I'm just proud of it and it really motivates me to continue to improve, find ways of doing things, and raise the standard for myself. When you just truly love what you do, passion naturally shows up in your work.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would tell them to jump in, don't be afraid to do things that others may look down on, because those things may become something of value to someone else. I would also say try to find exactly what it is you want to do, and see if you can excel from there. So then I feel like you're on the right path.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge right now is the rapid pace of change with technology coming in with AI. I'm trying to learn how to navigate AI and use it to my advantage, but still have that personal side of things. On the flip side, opportunities include finding ways to leverage the new technology and figuring out an opportunity to spend more time on higher-value work.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Values that are important to me would be integrity, accountability, respect, and reliability. I just believe in doing what I say I'm going to do, taking ownership when things don't go as planned, and just treating people with respect at every level. I value growing and always looking for ways to learn, improve, and become a better person professionally as well.
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