How R.D. Olson Replaced a Key Executive Assistant Fast with Amtec

The Challenge

R.D. Olson Construction is a general contractor based in Irvine, California, with a team of 201 to 500 people and revenue in the $100M to $500M range. When one of the firm’s executives learned that their Executive Assistant was leaving, the clock started.

This is a role a leader leans on every day: complex calendars, travel, and the confidential communications that keep a busy office moving. Losing that support without a strong replacement lined up would slow the whole leadership team down.

R.D. Olson had worked with us for years, so they asked us to run the search, quietly and quickly. They needed someone who could hold the standard the executive was used to and step in with minimal disruption.

The new Executive Assistant would need to:

• Manage complex executive calendars, travel, and day-to-day logistics
• Handle confidential communications with discretion
• Integrate quickly into a fast-paced leadership team
• Step in with minimal disruption to the executive’s routine

Why It Was Tricky

Two things made this search demanding. First, the timing: the executive needed coverage fast, before the outgoing assistant left. Second, the discretion: with the current assistant still in the seat, the search had to stay quiet.

The profile was narrow, too. A senior executive assistant who can manage confidential communications and slot into a fast-moving leadership team takes real experience.

What Amtec Did

Because we had spent years learning this client’s world, we did not start from a blank slate. This is when

We identified an experienced executive assistant working in the same kind of role at a direct competitor, someone who had spent more than a decade supporting senior leaders and who was already familiar with R.D. Olson. We ran the conversation discreetly, confirmed the fit, and moved.

That gave the client a candidate who understood the business before the first day, not someone who would need months to learn the people and the pace.

The Results

• Urgent search launched: Week one
• New Executive Assistant hired: Within 3 weeks

The new Executive Assistant was hired within three weeks of the first call. Because the candidate already knew the company, the handoff was quick and the executive kept working without a gap in support.

For the candidate, it was a step into a senior role that matched a decade of experience, alongside a leadership team they already had a strong relationship with. The executive kept the support they depend on, and the team held its pace.

Why This Worked

We knew the market before the search started. Years working with R.D. Olson meant we could go straight to the right kind of candidate instead of starting cold on a job board.

The search stayed discreet. With the outgoing assistant still in the seat, we ran the process quietly so the executive’s office kept running normally.

Experience that carried over on day one. More than ten years in a similar executive support role meant almost no ramp, and the candidate already knew the company and its leaders.

A relationship built over years paid off. The client trusted us to lead a sensitive search because we had earned it, and that trust let us move fast when it counted.

Need to Fill a Business-Critical Role Without Losing Momentum?

Amtec has placed talent in construction, and in the executive and administrative roles that keep leaders effective, since 1959. If you have a hard seat to fill and cannot afford a gap, we would be glad to talk it through.

Talk to our team