Executive & Personal Assistant with Palm Venture Studios
Austin, TX
Executive Office /
Full-time /
Hybrid
In the early 2000s, researchers gave kindergartners, MBAs, architects, and CEOs 18 minutes to build a tower using 20 pieces of uncooked spaghetti, a yard of string, and some tape. When CEOs worked alone, they were average at this task but when they worked with their assistants, their performance improved by 40%.
That delta captures the heart of this role: we’re looking for a strategic, agile, orchestrator to create leverage for Daniela Plattner across her personal and professional responsibilities.
In addition to competitive compensation, the successful candidate will gain unparalleled access to a dynamic world at the intersection of private equity, impact investing, building early-stage startups and community—along with deep exposure to the distinctive investment philosophy behind Palm’s remarkable track record.
ABOUT PALM VENTURES & PALM VENTURES STUDIOS
Palm Ventures is a single family office investment firm managing capital for the Palmer family (Daniela’s life and business partner), partnering with management teams across stages—from incubation to buyouts—to create long-term value and positive social impact. Palm Venture Studios, founded in 2019, focuses on early-stage incubations and startup turnarounds that improve human and planetary health.
Palm’s success stems from values-driven decisions, collaborative execution, and a sharp eye for hidden potential. With this approach, the firm has established a strong track record, including 18 exits, a 21x return on investment on a blended basis, and zero business failures. There are currently over 40 companies across Palm’s fast-growing portfolio of mission-driven companies.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Executive & Personal Assistant acts as an extension of Daniela by building and maintaining operating systems that turn dynamic strategic priorities into well-executed plans across both personal and professional domains.
This role is ideal for an orchestrator—someone who makes complexity feel simple, follows through consistently, and ensures nothing falls through the cracks. Success requires delivering exceptional outcomes across time and relationship management, travel and logistics, and personal and household support, using a mix of personal execution, smart tools, trusted service providers, and internal collaboration as needed, and at a rigorous and responsive pace.
The following high level and detailed outcomes illustrate what success looks like in this role:
Executive Support & Coordination
- Daniela’s calendar and inbox are managed with care, efficiency, and a forward-looking approach.
- All follow-ups and personal commitments are tracked and completed, with nothing overlooked.
- Daily schedules and logistics across professional and personal priorities are proactively managed and well-coordinated.
- Meetings, appointments, and multi-stakeholder events are organized seamlessly and run without a hitch.
Strategic & Operational Structure
- Complex information is consistently distilled into clear, actionable, decision-ready formats.
- Workflow improvements and friction-reduction opportunities are regularly identified and implemented to enhance daily operations.
- Needs are anticipated and addressed proactively, often before they are explicitly expressed.
- Effective systems are in place to support time, task, and information management at a high level.
- Sound judgment and flexibility are applied seamlessly across intersecting personal and professional responsibilities.
- A calm, adaptable, and solutions-oriented approach is maintained, even in high-pressure, high-expectation environments.
Personal & Household Support
- All domestic and international travel—including flights, accommodations, and itineraries—is seamlessly coordinated and executed.
- Personal logistics such as mail management, errands, and day-to-day tasks are handled efficiently to maximize overall productivity.
- Maintains strong relationships with personal vendors, service providers, and property managers across multiple residences, venture studios, and a social wellness club.
- Gifting, handwritten notes, and other thoughtful relationship touches are executed with care and consistency across their personal and professional networks.
- Events—from intimate dinners to milestone celebrations—are thoughtfully planned and smoothly executed.
- Special projects spanning personal and professional domains are led or supported to successful completion.
- Sensitive personal matters are handled with discretion, care, and absolute confidentiality.
What Positions You For Success
- You can give 3 examples of times that you created order from ‘chaos,’ taking dynamic needs and translating them into working, agile systems.
- Friends think of you as the person who can make anything happen. You quickly absorb strategic conversations—and move swiftly to bring them to life with precision and follow-through.
- 5-10 years of experience supporting senior executives, founders, or high-net-worth individuals in fast-paced, high-touch environments such as investment firms, startups, or family offices—ideally in roles that combine both personal and professional support.
- Strong track record managing calendars, logistics, and confidential communication with clarity and discretion.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to distill complex ideas and craft thoughtful correspondence, documentation, and reports.
- Experienced in blended EA/PA roles with the ability to move fluidly between professional and personal support.
- Exceptionally organized and resourceful, with a bias toward solutions and follow-through.
- Capable of supporting Daniela across key workstreams, including investment tracking, people operations, and marketing and communications.
- Proactive and observant, able to recognize patterns, prioritize effectively, and act independently.
- Emotionally steady and receptive to feedback, with the flexibility to pivot as priorities shift.
- Tech-savvy and thoughtful in selecting and implementing tools and systems that improve productivity and communication.
- Deeply trustworthy and attuned to relational dynamics, with strong instincts for privacy and discretion.
Salary
$125,000 - $150,000
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
We know that innovation thrives on teams where diverse points of view come together to solve hard problems. As such, we explicitly seek people that bring diverse life experiences, diverse educational backgrounds, diverse cultures, and diverse work experiences. Please be prepared to share with us how your perspective will bring something unique and valuable to our team.
