Growing up on the snow to tell the story of innovation
Interview with Barbara Pivanti
Some professional careers do not begin in a classroom, but outdoors, in motion. The career of Barbara Pivanti, Product Marketing Coordinator at Tecnica Group, began on the snow in the mountains of Macugnaga.
Thanks to her mother, a ski instructor, snow quickly became a fundamental part of her life. “I started skiing at a very young age and never stopped,” she recalls. Skiing soon became part of her daily routine and quickly evolved into competitive sport. Regular training sessions, travel, competitions, and winters shaped by clear goals led her to compete all the way up to the European Cup. At the age of twenty, however, a sudden turning point arrived: Barbara realised that she would not be able to become a professional athlete. She left competitive racing and enrolled at university. She never abandoned the slopes, though; whenever her courses in Milan were on hold, she returned to the snow to teach (having in the meantime obtained her qualification as a ski instructor, like her mother and sister).
In 2012, she graduated in Public Relations and Corporate Communication from IULM and moved to San Diego for a few months to improve her English. Upon returning from the United States, however, she felt the pull of the mountains and decided to work full-time as a ski instructor, dividing her time between Bardonecchia (in winter) and Australia (in summer). After three years, she chose to return to her studies and enrolled in a Master’s in Sports Business Strategies in Treviso. Once she had completed the programme, she began an internship at Tecnica Group, which soon turned into a permanent role within the marketing team. Barbara worked across the Group’s brands in a cross-functional capacity, handling communication activities at a 360-degree level. “Those were highly formative years. Working across multiple brands forces you to constantly shift perspective, adapt your language, and understand what truly makes a product unique.” After two years, however, she decided to change direction and returned to her hometown of Macugnaga, where she began working as a coach and later took over the local ski school together with a group of colleagues.
“It became my job around the clock: operations director, communication, website, social media, seasonal courses, all the way to creating the summer camp, which is now attended by around sixty children each week. I found myself doing a bit of everything – it was an incredible training ground, both personally and professionally.”
At the end of 2022, a phone call brought her two worlds back together: Arianna Colombari, Communication and Sustainability Director at Tecnica Group, who had followed Barbara since her internship, invited her to return to Tecnica, this time in a different role, closer to the heart of the product. Barbara became Product Marketing Coordinator and today works closely with product managers, development teams and the communication function, shaping how the product is presented across all its dimensions: from copy to imagery, from video to technical storytelling.
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«“Working on the product is fascinating because it means going into detail, understanding which technologies really make a difference, and then being able to communicate them clearly.” Her work takes shape in projects that combine precision and creativity.
As in the case of Tecnica’s new Mach1 LV ski boot, developed around the new T-Drive 2.0 system: “we had to communicate a complex technology while making its benefits immediately clear – smoother, more precise skiing, a more progressive flex, and a lighter boot. That is the most interesting part: translating highly technical details into a clear narrative that connects with the skier’s real experience.” Or the decision to shine a spotlight on what usually remains unseen: the inner liner of Nordica ski boots, made with cork components. “It is the part in direct contact with the foot, the one that determines comfort and performance. We broke it down into dozens of elements, explained it, showed it to people – an almost emotional form of storytelling to give proper value to what truly makes the difference on the slopes.”
Barbara’s sporting background naturally emerges in her current role. “Having skied competitively for years leaves you with something very precise: you become able to perceive differences that others might not immediately notice, and this also helps in how you communicate the product.” However, sport has not only provided her with technical skills. Above all, it has shaped her mindset: towards work, time and priorities. She is used to planning, meeting deadlines, and managing multiple objectives simultaneously because “when you compete at a high level, you quickly learn that without organisation you cannot do everything. It is a lesson I carry with me every day, also in the office.”
Despite her professional commitments, Barbara has maintained a very strong connection with the mountains and with teaching. During winter weekends, she returns to the slopes as a ski club coach, working with young children. “Children have a special energy. They remind you why you started and bring you back to the essence of things.” Balancing two such demanding worlds is challenging and requires great equilibrium, but for Barbara it is the only way to truly feel aligned with herself. “For me, it is important to wake up in the morning and feel that what I do makes sense. As long as I can keep these different parts together, I know I am in the right place.”
Determination is probably the word that best defines Barbara. Her story shows how a professional path is not always linear, but can find strength precisely in detours, returns and new beginnings. And perhaps this is the most authentic lesson of her journey: movement, when guided by awareness and dedication, does not take you further away from your goal — on the contrary, it makes it clearer.