As an avid Desmodonna, Ducati owner and female motorcyclist, I was delighted when I learnt that Ducati Australia and New Zealand had appointed a female as their Head of Marketing.
Later that evening, sitting in front of the open fire with a glass of red in hand, I did a bit of online stalking and discovered Alana Baratto is one awesome woman!
Inspired to learn more about her story, I suggested to my colleague, Melanie (Vice President of the Ducati Owners Club of Victoria), that I’d love to interview Alana and write an article for the club magazine. So, Mel set up a Zoom meeting and Alana told us her story. I can confirm that Mel and I were both suitably impressed. No wonder she was the perfect candidate for the role.
Introduced to motorcycling as a youngster
Alana’s love of motorcycling goes way back. Her dad introduced her to riding as a kid and at age 5 he gave her a pink PeeWee 50cc motorcycle. Like myself, Alana grew up on a farm and had acres on which to ride ‘grass track’. Also like me, her mum is not particularly enamoured with the concept. She won’t go riding with Alana and her dad because she simply can’t watch.
Her dad was a very passionate off-road rider, always enjoyed road racing and was also passionate about the 500cc Grand Prix (GP) and World Superbike Championships (WSBK). He took to road riding at about the time Alana came into the world. In 1991, when Alana was a young kid, he took her to the first GP held at Eastern Creek Raceway in Sydney. Her parents had a hard time pulling her back from motorcycling after that!
Having given away riding for a long time, Alana didn’t actually get her motorcycle licence until 2019. But she says she always loved it. She could always ride, always rode in the paddocks, always had an affinity with bikes, always rode pillion and loved it.
A clear career goal to work towards
Ducati has been a ‘beacon’ for Alana ever since she was young. Her first trip to Italy as a teenager took her to Borgo Panigale, the home of Ducati motorcycles. She did the Ducati factory tour in Bologna and went to Misano for the WSBK race.
Alana had always dreamed that, when she left school, Ducati was where she was going. Lucky for me and my fellow Ducatisti, her mission is accomplished!
Alana fell in love with road racing, particularly around MotoGP, WSBK and the Australian SBK Championships. Although she realised quite early that she was never going to be a racer, she decided that she wanted to get involved with the marketing and communications. This became the guiding beacon for her career.
She also had an interest in architecture and her parents made her apply for university. She got into the course and they gave her 12 months to see if she could make ‘the motorbike thing’ work out, otherwise they told her she would have to go back to studying architecture.
It seems her passion for motorcycling triumphed and she got a job in a dealership. She worked with the Aprilia and Moto Guzzi marques in a technical, warranty, service and spare parts admin role. With her leg in the door, she refocussed her university degree to enable her to move into a marketing role for the company. Her beacon was shining bright!
An industry sabbatical
After 5+ years with Aprilia and Moto Guzzi, Alana decided she wanted a change of scene and moved to a health and vitamins company. She said she loved her 4 years in this role, it was “an interesting experience” and being in the ‘Fast Moving Consumer Goods’ sector taught her a lot and gave her a passion for digital technologies. She has been able to draw on her experiences in complementary medicine to bring a different perspective to her two-wheel-related roles.
However, she said “vitamins just aren’t the same”. She was missing that passion to get up for work in the morning. She missed the community, the weekends at the track and the passion that sits around motorcycling. So, she went back to Aprilia and Moto Guzzi and after a few years she made her way into KTM, where she stayed for over 3 years. But Ducati was always the dream … her beacon was winking at her, the time was right and she had the creds to go for it.
A woman in a man’s world
When I asked Alana what challenges she has faced in what is traditionally considered a male dominated industry, she got a little stuck for words. The sticking point, however, was that people often ask that question making an assumption that, because motorcycling is known to be male dominated, there must be challenges. Alana’s experience proves that assumption is incorrect.
Alana told me she has been fortunate that she has always been incredibly supported by her male peers. She has always worked with men who have been willing to teach her and who have treated her with respect. She was emphatic when she said that:
“The boys, for sure, treat me like one of the boys. But I’ve never ever come across anything that has made me question my place in the industry. I work hard and they respect the perspective and experience that I bring to the table.”
Interestingly, Alana told me that it was tougher for her as a female leader in complementary medicine. Alana asserts the motorcycle industry is different:
“Everyone is driven by one passion. How we go about it might differ, whether we agree on it may differ. But everyone knows we’re being driven by the one love. That is the difference.”
A woman’s perspective
When I asked whether Alana has found being a woman brings a new dynamic or viewpoint to the motorcycle industry, Alana’s articulate and sage response was:
“I think we all have different opinions. I think everyone is an individual, so everyone has a fresh taste on things or a different perspective of things. I don’t think that I’m any different being a female. Everyone comes at it from a different perspective, from a different background, from a different culture. And that is what makes this industry so dynamic!”
She speaks so passionately about the motorcycle industry, it’s best if I simply quote her directly:
“We have a community like nobody else has. There is so much passion, so much love and so many people that are driven by that. The community [has given me] lifelong friends that I’ve met around the world and the only common interest we have is motorcycles. And I think that more women should be able to experience that.”
Sometimes it’s lonely to pursue your passion
This passion, however, was not shared by her non-motorcycling friends who Alana says “wouldn’t know the front end of a motorcycle from the back end of a motorcycle.”
Needless to say she didn’t get much support in the beginning when they found out she wanted to work with motorcycles. And there was not a lot of understanding when she needed to leave a Sunday session at the club early because she wanted to get home to watch the MotoGP.
Sometimes that sort of resistance can be challenging to balance. But Alana’s advice is:
“It doesn’t matter what field you’re in, if it’s something that you love and it’s why you get up in the morning … then you should always pursue it. And work hard at it.”
Mentors provided support and guidance
As is true for most successful leaders, Alana has always had mentors. She has had different mentors for different stages of her career. She counts her mentors as close friends and they have supported her by offering advice, providing a sounding board and giving different opinions to guide her.
They have also argued with her to test how strongly she holds her convictions.
Expanding her career and perspective
Alana joined the Motorcycling Australia (MA) Board of Directors in May 2019 and was appointed Chair of the MA Women’s Committee. Later that year, she was appointed as the Oceania representative of the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) Commission for Women in Motorcycling.
This experience sitting at the ‘big table’ has added a new aspect to her career. It has broadened her perspective from being a player within the industry to now looking at the industry and the sport as a whole. She has gained an appreciation of how each part of the industry fits into the motorcycling ecosystem and how, by working better together, the various stakeholders can achieve a bigger reach and more engagement for the industry and sport.
Her aim as a Board Member is to ensure the knowledge she brings to the table and the work she does for MA makes a difference. And, whilst her time at MA has been a huge learning curve, she feels the experience has made her a better all round industry person. And she intends to leverage all she has learnt in order to continue making a difference.
The work Alana is doing is an impressive catalyst to increasing women’s participation in the sport and the industry. Alana’s advice to other women looking to pursue a career in the motorcycle industry is:
“Do it!”
Do you have a similar story? Are you a woman in a male dominated industry? Does your experience align with Alana’s? I’d love to hear about your career journey too, Contact me.