Meet Barbara, our Senior Marketing Manager Under Armour & Blackroll
 

All it takes is one of her favourite songs during her morning commute to energise Barbara Cristofoletti for her role as Senior Marketing Manager for Under Armour & Blackroll. She is passionate about bringing Under Armour to life and, together with her team, ensures the brand remains visible and relevant across Italy and Switzerland. More recently, she has also taken responsibility for the Blackroll brand in the Italian market. Her focus is on positioning the brands and their products to reach the right audiences and build authentic connections with them – through campaigns, events, digital channels, partnerships, and retail. Today, marketing is about far more than advertising. It means creating memorable brand experiences, building communities, and combining data, creativity, and collaboration in meaningful ways. "In the end, my job is a blend of strategy, teamwork, and a strong understanding of people, trends, and the market," she says.

For Barbara, who is a mother of two, success means taking initiative and pursuing goals with commitment and determination. Reaching the end result matters, but so does staying the course and moving forward consistently as a team. "I've come to realise again and again that I need people around me. Exchanging ideas and sharing experiences are incredibly important to me – they're an essential part of success."

Within the B.U. Distributed Brands team, Barbara especially values the positive, open atmosphere and the shared passion for both the brands and the company. One achievement she is particularly proud of is winning the Oberalp Creativity & Innovation Award in 2025 for Rise to Shine – Under Armour's first sportswear campaign fully developed in Italy since 2017. The project was anything but straightforward, she recalls. "With so many stakeholders involved, high expectations, and several challenges along the way, there were definitely some stressful moments. That made it even more rewarding to prove that all the hard work paid off and that, together, we made the project a great success."

Working under pressure is something Barbara has become accustomed to over many years. She demonstrated her resilience from the very beginning of her time at Oberalp. Her first day on the job was certainly one of the most unusual experiences imaginable. She joined the company in early 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her laptop and phone were delivered to her home, she met her team exclusively through Microsoft Teams, and at the same time she was starting a new job while managing life at home with her husband and two children. She powered through those chaotic first weeks with energy and determination, laying the foundation for a successful career at Oberalp.

Although she enjoys planning and staying organized, she is equally comfortable dealing with the unexpected. In fact, there is no such thing as a typical day in her role. As one colleague aptly puts it, it often feels "like being in a washing machine on the spin cycle."

Barbara finds inspiration in the life stories of athletes, whose experiences offer lessons that extend far beyond sport and resonate in both her professional and personal life. "Athletes show how to build resilience, live with discipline, strengthen team spirit, and deal with setbacks. That's what inspires me," says the enthusiastic volleyball player.

Volleyball continues to be an important part of her life outside work, simply because she enjoys it. She also loves spending time in nature. Whether standing on a mountain summit overlooking the surrounding landscape or on a cliff by the sea, wide-open landscapes bring her a sense of calm. Her greatest source of energy, however, is the time she spends with her husband, their two children, and the rest of her family.

Motherhood gave Barbara an even deeper sense of responsibility and shifted her priorities. Family became the centre of her life – and that is exactly where she feels most at home. "It's with my family that I'm reminded of what truly matters in life."