She is the global head of women's football for Fifa, the Swiss-based organisation that has annual revenues in the billions and represents more than 200 nations and territories.
Her ascension has been swift - at the turn of this decade, Bareman was the finance officer for the Samoan Football Federation - and there are still moments, like Infantino's lunch, where it's a bit hard to believe.
"It was surreal," Bareman tells the Herald on Sunday. "I was sitting there with my phone in front of me, fighting this instinct to take a selfie, in this intimate lunch with these superstars of football, like it was an everyday thing. But once I got over where I was and who I was with, it was like any normal lunch."
Bareman has had plenty of those moments since she landed the role 10 months ago.
"It's been exciting, challenging ... stressful at times," says Bareman. "But it's an amazing opportunity."
Bareman's brief is to formulate and then implement Fifa's global strategy for the women's game. There are around five million registered female players across the world and a further 25 million participants.
"It's a huge responsibility," says Bareman. "I still doubt myself sometimes but you need to make sure you are well prepared, you've done your research and don't be afraid to put yourself out there."
Bareman, who has a Dutch father and Samoan mother, took up football at high school. She captained the Massey High 1st XI, and played at senior level for several Auckland clubs.
She gained an entry-level job at the National Bank after leaving school and progressed quickly, from team leader to branch manager to a senior role in the property finance unit.
However, the 2008 global financial crisis saw her reassess things and around this time, she made her first trip to Samoa.
"I wanted to understand more about Mum's culture," said Bareman. "While I was there, I saw a job advertised for finance officer with the Samoan Football Federation. I thought it could be perfect for me."
Bareman's "little trip" to Samoa evolved into a six-year stay but was marked by an inauspicious start.
"The previous administration had misused the funds and had been put into normalisation by Fifa," said Bareman. "So the first six months was about digging the federation out of this huge debt. There was no football happening and the facilities were in a mess. Once we got the finances on track, we had to rebuild the game from scratch."
Along with the administrative challenges, there were personal obstacles.
"Being female, not a full Samoan, [and] not being able to speak the language, I was seen as an outsider," said Bareman. "Those things worked against me before I had even opened my mouth or done any work."
Despite her status - she was appointed chief executive in 2011 - it was a battle. She was regularly told her place was "in the kitchen" and even had some (male) employees who openly struggled to accept her authority.
Bareman remembers sitting in high level meetings and having to tolerate sexist jokes, or fend off unwanted advances.
"The way I got through was walking the walk," says Bareman. "Doing the work, and earning people's respect through my actions. This road has certainly not been easy, but adversity is where that strength builds. When you face an issue, then get through it, that builds your self-confidence."
Bareman thrived in the role and helped put Samoan football back on the map, before she was brought back to Auckland to be deputy general secretary of the Oceania Football Confederation.
From there, she was appointed to Fifa's reform committee in 2016, in the wake of the widespread corruption scandals that forced then-president Sepp Blatter and many of his associates out of office.
"I was the only woman on that committee," said Bareman. "Although what happened to Fifa was quite negative, for women's football, we saw that as an opportunity and a way to bring women to the forefront. And now I'm here. I could never have guessed it at the time, that everything I was fighting for in the committee, I would later be implementing."
Bareman arrived in Zurich last December, taking up residence inside Fifa's sprawling headquarters which include five underground levels, a fitness centre, meditation room, a full-size international football pitch and other fields of varying sizes.
"On my first day, it was overwhelming, like 'wow, I can't believe I work here'," says Bareman. "I even took a video walking round and sent it to my family. It's an amazing facility. There is a football pitch right outside my window and running trails outside."
Not that Bareman has much time for recreation. She regularly clocks 12 to 14-hour days ("I've never had such volume of emails or demands for my time") but has recently set an unofficial rule that no one should be in the office past 7pm, after finding her team were copying her habits.
There's constant meetings and regular travel: a business of sport summit in Australia, a huge football expo in Portugal, the Women's Euros in Holland and she's currently in Rwanda.
Bareman has joined Fifa at an opportune time, as the organisation redresses its gender imbalance.
She's one of three females on the senior Fifa management committee, and there are now six women on the Fifa council; in 2015, there was only one.
Women's football is seen as the biggest growth area for the sport. The 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada showed the potential. There were more than 750 million television viewers - the BBC's audience grew 500 per cent compared with 2011 - and 1.4 million people went to the stadiums, with seven matches attracting crowds in excess of 50,000.
Bareman has high hopes for the future of the Women's World Cup, with the next edition in France in 2019.
"It will be a catalyst for the women's game," said Bareman. "It should be the most popular, widely watched, commercially attractive female sporting event in the world."
Bareman feels the pressure but a recent note from a former team-mate put everything in perspective.
"She wrote, 'Who would have thought the young high school girl playing for North Shore is now the chief women's officer at Fifa?' That summed it up."
A huge world map in Bareman's office provides another regular reminder.
"I've put Post-it notes to represent all the different regions and how many different member countries there are," says Bareman. "Looking at that reminds me that my role is to deliver to all those people in all those countries. It's a big responsibility but also an honour."
