Áine McCleary is the newly appointed director of distribution channels at Bank of Ireland and the incoming President of the Institute of Banking. Here she discusses the realities and myths of ‘balancing it all’, and why enabling customers, colleagues and communities to thrive is the priority in her workplace.
I’ll start with a bit about myself. I am from Dublin; married to Alan, we have four children aged between six and thirteen. In my spare time, I enjoy family time, walking, travelling and GAA.
Following on from my Bachelor of Commerce in UCD I undertook an MBS in International Business through the Michael Smurfit Business School. Since joining Bank of Ireland, I have completed the QFA diploma, and I have obtained the Certified Bank Director designation through the Institute of Banking.
My career to date has been across a variety of roles. I started in Ulster Bank as a foreign exchange dealer before moving to Bank of Ireland Global Markets in 2000. Over the following twelve years, I led sales and service teams engaging with retail, corporate and institutional customers.
After my last maternity leave in 2012, I decided it was time for a change, and I moved to the retail banking division of Bank of Ireland. Since then I have held a number of roles including strategy and planning, head of mortgages and director of direct channels. Earlier this year, I was delighted to be appointed the director of distribution channels.
As you can see, I have moved role many times, and my ethos is to take all opportunities.
“Women can tend to be quite hard on themselves and can suffer self-doubt.”
The stats show that Irish women are more likely to hold a third level qualification than men, yet women fall below the EU average for employment. Why do you think that is?
I believe there
