Audrey Bermingham
Finance Team Lead Ireland
What did you enjoy studying in school and what does that mean for you now?
My favourite subject was history and still love watching documentaries about events in the past. I like watching the news now because I feel what we are living through now will be what will be studied in the future.
What’s your career trajectory – have you always been in travel?
Before travel I was a professional Irish dancer; I travelled with Irish dancing shows across Europe and the USA. I still teach Irish dancing and get to travel the world adjudicating Irish dancing competitions.
March 2023 marks 30 years of my travel career. I started at Eugene Magee Travel in Dublin, and joined FCM after the corporate travel agency I was working for was acquired by Flight Centre Travel Group.
What was your first impression of FCM and how do you feel now?
My first impression was that FCM was huge compared to what we were used to. We were only used to working for a local company and being a part of a global firm was a bit daunting at first.
But now we are fully immersed in all things Flight Centre/FCM and can see the opportunities that are out there for you as an individual with the Brightness of Future programme and the opportunity to move within the business. Also, the many benefits that are available to us being part of a global travel firm as opposed to a local one.
What do you consider your greatest career achievements?
Getting the role I am in now as Team Lead of Finance in Ireland, as well as receiving awards for support, and managing the ICON Account in Finance since 2014.
What do you think is your most important lessons learned?
Not to take yourself too seriously, be patient and listen.
What do you think it means to be a woman in a senior leadership position?
The challenges to the role are equal regardless of gender. I am proud of my own achievements and how I got to where I am at, which was through hard work and being confused on clients and outcomes. I’m grateful to be working in an environment that appreciates that. I would hope that I am an inspiration to my own daughter, and have showed her that hard work and dedication are the corner stones of success and can be rewarded regardless of gender.
What do you think of the opportunities available for women at FCM/Flight Centre and the corporate travel industry as a whole?
I believe that FCM cultivates an environment of equality and as we are a global brand this can be experienced across all entities of Flight Centre.
As a female leader, what has been the most significant barrier in your career?
I haven’t really experienced any barriers in my career, the challenges I mainly faced was balancing family life, children and being a carer for a sick parent all while holding down a full time job with full commitment.
How should women support other women in their organisations?
Be fair to one another and listen to each other.
Do or did you have a woman leader as a mentor or are there specific women who inspired you and why?
Valerie Metcalfe, our previous managing director in Ireland, was one of a kind and an amazing leader. She had great empathy for her staff and was fair with everyone and worked so hard. I admired how she balanced everything and was unflappable.