IMBEWU Empowerment Group
2026 ANNUAL SUMMIT
ELEVATE
From "Support Staff" to Strategic Partner
A career and influence summit for Secretaries, PAs, EAs and Administrative Professionals
One-Day In-Person Summit • 7 October 2026
NH Johannesburg Sandton, Johannesburg
NETWORKING
OPPORTUNITIES
Speed-mentoring, peer roundtables, and a full-day community of admin professionals
LEARNING FROM
INDUSTRY LEADERS
Real South African EAs, PAs, and business leaders sharing what actually works
A TAKE-HOME
ACTION PLAN
Leave with a completed 90-Day Action Plan, not just notes
Why This Is a Must-Attend
Most admin training days teach software shortcuts. Elevate is different: it is a career and influence summit, not a skills refresher. Beyond calendars and correspondence, today's Secretaries, PAs, and EAs are expected to manage complexity, influence decisions, and act as trusted strategic partners to the executives they support.
The Elevate Summit 2026 brings together practising assistants, trainers, and business leaders to explore what actually earns trust, visibility, and promotion in the profession today. Across one intensive day, delegates will learn from South African EAs and business voices, engage with real career case studies, and complete a facilitated 90-Day Action Plan they take back to their desks on Monday morning.
The intent is clear: to help the people who run the business be recognised, rewarded, and equipped for the next stage of their careers. This year's programme is structured around the themes reshaping the profession:
Managing Up and Influence Without Authority
The strongest assistants no longer simply execute instructions — they read priorities, anticipate needs, and shape decisions long before a meeting is even scheduled. Sessions explore how to build the judgment that earns an executive's trust and a genuine seat in the planning conversation.
AI, Automation, and Staying Indispensable
Technology is reshaping how administrative work gets done. The real opportunity is not resisting automation but using it to reclaim time for the judgment-based work only a skilled assistant can provide. The programme examines practical tool stacks alongside the human skills that remain irreplaceable.
Personal Brand, Visibility, and Career Growth
Many admin professionals do exceptional work that no one outside their office ever sees. This year's agenda offers practical approaches to building a visible professional reputation, negotiating role and pay, and turning day-to-day excellence into a recognised career trajectory.
Wellbeing, Boundaries, and Sustainable Performance
Burnout and scope-creep remain some of the biggest threats to long careers in this profession. Delegates will explore how to set boundaries, manage difficult conversations, and stay resilient without sacrificing the relationships that make the role rewarding.
Who Should Attend?
The Elevate Summit 2026 is designed for administrative and support professionals who are ready to build stronger, more visible, and more strategic careers:
Executive & Personal Assistants
Including EAs, PAs, and Executive Business Partners supporting senior leaders and boards
Secretaries & Office Managers
Office Managers, Secretaries, Team Assistants, and Administrative Coordinators
Emerging Admin Leaders
Senior Admin Professionals moving toward Chief of Staff, Office Lead, or management roles
Conference Programme
TIME
SESSION
8:00 – 8:45
Registration and Welcome Breakfast
Registration, welcome refreshments, and networking. Name badges are printed with an "ask me about..." conversation starter to break the ice before the first session begins.
8:45 – 9:00
Welcome Address and Opening Remarks
Framing the day as a career and influence event, not a software refresher, and setting the tone for an honest conversation about where the profession is headed.
9:00 – 9:45
KEYNOTE The Room Where It Happens: Becoming the Assistant Executives Can't Do Without
How trusted assistants shape decisions long before the room even convenes. This opening keynote explores what it takes to move from gatekeeper to advisor.
9:45 – 10:30
PANEL What Executives Wish Their Assistants Knew
A candid, unscripted conversation exploring what actually earns an executive's trust, the biggest miscommunications, and how to ask for more responsibility without overreach.
10:30 – 11:00
Morning Refreshments and Networking Break
11:00 – 11:45
BREAKOUT AI & Automation: Reclaiming 10 Hours a Week
A practical look at tool stacks for scheduling, inbox triage, meeting notes, and travel logistics, and an honest conversation about where automation helps and where human judgement still wins.
11:45 – 12:30
WORKSHOP Building Your Personal Brand as an Admin Professional
Turning day-to-day work into a visible body of expertise. Covers writing a LinkedIn bio that signals strategic value and talking about your work in reviews without bragging.
12:30 – 13:30
Lunch Break and Speed-Mentoring
Rotating 8-minute conversations with senior EAs and office managers, structured around three prompts: career pivots, salary negotiation, and burnout recovery.
13:30 – 14:15
FIRESIDE CHAT The Career I Didn't Know I Could Have
A real conversation about admin-to-Chief-of-Staff and admin-to-management career journeys, what separated professionals who got promoted from those who plateaued.
14:15 – 15:00
BREAKOUT Negotiating Your Role, Title & Pay
Benchmarking your value, building the business case for a title or salary change, and timing the ask for maximum impact.
15:00 – 15:30
Afternoon Coffee and Networking Break
15:30 – 16:15
ROUNDTABLE Difficult Conversations, Boundaries, and Calm Command of Chaos
A collaborative dialogue on the two biggest threats to a long admin career: scope-creep and burnout. Delegates and speakers share real strategies for saying no.
16:15 – 16:45
CLOSING KEYNOTE Your Next 12 Months
Live completion of a one-page 90-Day Action Plan. Delegates pick one skill, one relationship, and one visibility goal to focus on, and leave with an accountability structure.
16:45 – 17:15
Closing Reception
Informal networking to close the day, hosted by the Elevate Summit chairperson.
Sponsorship and Exhibition
Do you have a solution or product for administrative and support professionals that you want to showcase to decision-makers?
Elevate attracts practising EAs, PAs, Office Managers, and the HR and business leaders who support them. Sponsorship and exhibition packages offer direct engagement with this audience through branded space, speaking opportunities, and lead generation.
• Engage directly with current and potential customers in the admin support space
• Showcase your product or service to an engaged, career-focused audience
• Feature your team through speaking opportunities that build market credibility
• Access a focused networking platform with HR, EA, and office-management decision-makers
• Select from a range of sponsorship packages to fit any budget
Contact Imbewu Empowerment Group at welile1@imbewuempowerment.co.za to find out more and reserve your place early. There are limited sponsorship and exhibition opportunities available.
Venue: NH Johannesburg Sandton
NH Johannesburg Sandton sits in the heart of Sandton's business district, just around the corner from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and two kilometres from Nelson Mandela Square and Sandton Gautrain Station. Set in landscaped gardens with 12 meeting rooms and up to 603 sqm of total event space, the hotel comfortably hosts conferences and banquets for up to 1,000 guests, making it an easy fit for the Elevate Summit's single-day format.
A complimentary shuttle service runs to Sandton Gautrain Station and Sandton City Mall, and indoor parking is available on-site for delegates driving in.
Address: 138 Rivonia Road, Sandton, Johannesburg, 2196
Reservations: sandton@nhhotels.com | +27 10 003 8979
Registration Information
HOW TO REGISTER
Online: www.imbewuempowerment.co.za
Email: Send a completed registration form to Info@imbewuempowerment.co.za
Special Offers
• Early Bird Offer — 15% discount: Register and pay by 30 August 2026 to qualify
• Group Booking Discount: Register 4 or more delegates from the same organisation for a reduced per-person rate
Registration Option
2026 Price (excl. VAT)
Early Bird (excl. VAT)
One-day Summit ticket
R4,250.00
R3,613.00 (save R637.00)
Group booking (4+ delegates, per person)
R3,650.00
R3,103.00 (save R547.00)
Registration fees exclude VAT. Payment must be received before the event takes place.
Terms & Conditions of Registration
• Payment must be received before the event takes place; access may be refused where proof of payment cannot be shown
• Substitute delegates are welcome at no additional charge; please notify us in writing
• Transfers to another Imbewu Empowerment Group event are free of charge if requested at least 10 working days before the event; transfers within 10 working days incur a 20% administration fee
• Cancellations must be received in writing at least 10 working days before the event to avoid the full fee
• Imbewu Empowerment Group reserves the right to change programme content, speakers, venue, date, or delivery method should unforeseen circumstances require it