Celebrating Her Strength : What does strong leadership look like at PRIMAL?

Strength. It’s in us all.  This is not just a slogan, but a true value PRIMAL lives by. The fitness industry today remains a male dominated space, with only 27% of leadership positions being held by women. That’s why we are proud to have a female leadership representation doubling this industry average.

Meet the women of PRIMAL

Holding a board level position, Gianna Rinaldi, Commercial Director at PRIMAL, has been working in the strength industry for over 20 years and knows how tough the climb to the top has been for a woman in the past.

Gianna wants women of the industry to know change is happening right now and she’s there to spot them along the way. “I am proud to be one of the few female directors in the strength industry - PRIMAL have given me the opportunity to champion female talent, act as a mentor to young women, and use my experience to make positive change.  When I started my career I very much felt the impact of being in the minority, but at PRIMAL I get to be the leader and role model I would have wanted for myself.”

Nicola Walker, Senior Office Manager, feels positive about being a woman in strength.  “I’ve always been respected as a leader here at PRIMAL, and valued for the work I do. The environment is definitely one of equality and unlike some other workplaces, PRIMAL have never made my gender a factor. This is just one of the reasons I’ve stayed with the company since the start.”

Nicola has been instrumental in allowing the company to grow logistically, leading customer service team and our internal operations. The fast growth at PRIMAL allowed for a whole new department to be created by yet another female lead - Natalie Devereux, Head of Merchandising.

Natalie came on board to build out the new team, her experience since joining as one of our fully remote workers has been challenging, but triumphant. “Since joining the team it has been fulfilling to get true autonomy as a leader - I’ve had full trust from the business to build the team I want and continue to do so.” Natalie reflects.

“I have joined a company that is well-established in the strength industry, which happens to be currently male dominated.I don’t refer to this fact or feel like I work in a male dominated industry as I am respected and treated as an individual like all other team members regardless of my gender.”

It’s clear that there have been great changes in gender representation across the board, and one area where we are able to let this shine and spread to the rest of the brand, is in marketing. The marketing department has two senior women at the helm - Head of Marketing, Jennifer Dalgleish, and Head of Content, Lisa Gormley.

Jen says, "Our brand belief that strength is in us all resonates with me deeply. Working alongside other strong woman and being able to showcase strong woman in our marketing campaigns, seeing the gyms we create where woman feel empowered to train, and knowing as a company we can design equipment to support woman discover their potential is an exciting place to be."  

Lisa says, “I love seeing the rise of women waking up to the benefits of strength training, and immediately I wanted to work for PRIMAL as a company that sees the strength in everyone.  PRIMAL are a brand that appreciates the value of women both on the consumer side, and what we can do to further the business. I have the privilege of communicating PRIMAL’s story in our content, and it’s enjoyable to profile some powerful women while doing so.”

Breaking the norm

It should be noted that whilst the majority of marketers are still women, PRIMAL have women in senior posts in traditionally male led departments too.  Lee Cairns, is the senior woman in finance, managing a full team of women. “I can honestly say I could forget sexism in the workplace even exists when it comes to my job at PRIMAL. Fairness and equality runs through everything we do and every opportunity.  It’s more progressive than a lot of companies I’ve worked for in the past.”

So what’s the secret to building a fast growth, award winning brand? Many things, but we’ll give you one ingredient for free - strong leaders, male and female, working together to bring diversity of thought for optimal innovation.