By Assistants, For Assistants

A Warm Hello
from The Founders

Anna Salisbury and Clare Lucas are two founders with years of experience in the world of assistance, both in running their own businesses and in helping other businesses thrive.
Over time, they have learned just how much value assistants bring not only in keeping things moving, but in helping organisations grow with confidence, clarity and care.

Founder & Assistant

Anna Salisbury

Anna Salisbury founded her Business and Lifestyle PA business in 2021 and is also a Women’s Circle facilitator. Anna is known for her passion around wellbeing and connection.

Founder & Assistant

Clare Lucas

Clare Lucas is the founder of VA Agency Ducks In A Row, and The Entrepreneurs’ Round Table. She’s known for bringing people together in tourism, arts and creative sectors.

Having built their own careers through experience, insight and real-world problem solving, they wanted to create something that shares that learning with others.

This East of England Assistants Conference is their way of bringing people together.

Anna and Clare are championing the profession, and creating more space for connection,
development and shared success across the assistant community.

Both Anna and Clare were finalists in the Inspirational VA of the Year category at the 2025 UK VA Awards, a recognition of their dedication, expertise and contribution to the industry.

And then came Sam…

Sam Parnell arrived with a background in digital transformation, change management, business growth and skills development and an almost pathological inability to see a perfectly good idea without asking, “Yes, but what else could we do with it?”

Sam works with businesses and organisations to understand how people, processes, digital tools and data fit together and, more importantly, how to make them work better. She specialises in turning big, complicated ideas into practical change, with a particular obsession for skills, digital confidence and making sure smaller businesses have access to the same quality of expertise as much larger organisations.

For EEAC 2026, Sam joined the team as a partner and host, bringing her particular combination of strategy, energy, systems thinking, community building and enthusiastic interference to the mix but what really hooked her was the opportunity behind the conference.

Sam believes that VAs, EAs, PAs and fractional professionals are becoming an increasingly important part of how modern businesses access skills and expertise. And as AI, digital tools and new ways of working continue to change what businesses need, there is an enormous opportunity for this community to step forward.

Sam’s question is simple: How can the EEAC make sure the people supporting our businesses have access to the very best skills, learning, networks and opportunities too?

Stay tuned to what’s next for the answer!