awhina has been set up by Marianne Smith who has over 10 years experience in senior PA roles in both New Zealand and the UK.

awhina (pronounced arfina) brings a little bit of NZ to the UK. awhina is the native Maori word meaning to help / assist.

Born in the UK, Marianne holds both UK and NZ citizenship and has worked for global corporates in both hemispheres. Roles have included supporting a regional HR Director, Chief Executive and Area Vice President in the FMCG, Accountancy and Healthcare industries.

Having seen the trend of virtual assistant roles develop Marianne saw an opportunity to provide this service alongside that of a freelance PA.

This combination provides total flexibility to the client who may require both an in-house and external resource at different times or stages of a project.

Drawing on a wealth of experience and understanding of how diverse the role of a PA can be, awhina aims to provide clients with a professional seamless service. If a requirement does fall outside awhina capabilities then research can be undertaken to provide the best solution for the client.