Kate and Eileen

Sometimes a friendship can lead to new paths and possibilities, as is the case for Barclays’ colleagues Eileen Bermingham and Kate Horton.

Eileen, an Assistant Vice President in Compliance, met Kate, now a Director in Senior Relationship Management, at a networking event shortly after joining Barclays in May 2016. Eileen joined Barclays through the Encore! programme, our flagship return to work programme for people who’ve taken a career break of one or more years.

With a long career in engineering and portfolio management behind her, Eileen’s move into Compliance at a large bank was uncharted territory that Kate helped her navigate, having worked in Compliance herself for several years. The two women hit it off, and came to value each other as mentors, sounding boards and career resources over the years.

In 2018, with her maternity leave approaching, Kate asked Eileen to cover for her during her absence. Kate was confident that Eileen could bring a unique and valuable perspective to her team, while also helping Eileen to reach her career goal of moving into a client-facing role. This is their story.