When it comes to inspiring women of the Automotive Aftermarket, Priscilla Robb is an award-winning example

A “born and bred Melbourne girl,” Gates Marketing Manager Priscilla Robb has lived in the South-East suburbs of Melbourne all of her life and had a taste for business from an early age.
“Throughout high school I was very interested in business related subjects, and I excelled in business management in Year 12, achieving a perfect score,” she said.
“This saw me enroll in a Commerce/Arts degree at Monash University, majoring in Human Resources.
“I enrolled in some marketing subjects during my third year, and that is where my love for marketing began, leading me to minor in Marketing for my degree.
“During my final year of University, I accompanied a friend to the Monash Marketing Society AGM, which resulted in me being nominated as the President of the Monash Clayton arm – that turned out to be my favourite year at Uni, seeing me make lifelong, like-minded friends who also had a passion for marketing.”
Graduating from University in November of 2003, Priscilla started her first corporate role as a Marketing Coordinator for Gates Australia the same month and has been with the leading company ever since.
“During my 20-year career at Gates, I have progressed from an entry level Marketing Coordinator role to Marketing Manager, looking after the Australia and New Zealand region,” Priscilla said.
“Although only a small team of three, our department is responsible for all marketing programs for the business across the automotive and industrial markets in these regions.
“Over time I have also become a part of the Leadership Team for the local business (Gates Australia), and I also lead the Gates Social and Wellbeing program with a strong passion for ensuring we thank, reward and recognise our team.”
It is after joining Gates that Priscilla’s interest in cars was first ignited.
“I wasn’t really into cars all that much, other than attending the Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park since I was 16 years old for the social side,” Priscilla explains.
“My knowledge in cars developed along with my career at Gates, and when we became involved in sponsoring Kelly Racing, and now Penrite Racing, I have developed a strong interest in Supercars.”
Priscilla is passionate about supporting the next generation and has some great advice for anyone seeking to advance their careers in the automotive aftermarket.
“Anyone starting out should look to build a network both internally and externally to support them,” she said.
“Having been at one company for such a long time, something important for me has been to build relationships externally to gain outside perspective, share ideas, and establish a support network – doing this has enabled me to also get a realistic gauge on what was going on within the industry beyond our own company’s walls.
“I also go by the mantra that the customer is the most important stakeholder in our business, and everything we do must factor in the impact on them – after all, without our customers we essentially wouldn’t have a job.
“For me, it has always been a highlight of my career to be able to get out and meet with our customers at all levels of ‘the channel,’ from distributor partners, resellers and branches to end users; both in formal settings as well as informal, such as trade events, hosting at Supercar events, or visiting customers on-site.
“Understanding and building relationships with customers is the best way to achieve success in your role. In my opinion, I think it is also very important to treat others how you would like to be treated. Common courtesy and respect are crucial parts of being successful in business.”

Such is Priscilla’s interest in growing the future of our industry, she is a driving force of a Gates program to encourage and inspire apprentices.
“Something I am extremely proud of is the implementation of the Gates Apprentice program in conjunction with our sponsorship of Penrite Racing,” she said.
“Following a discussion with Matt Stewart of Repco Authorised Service and after listening to a seminar by the AAAA’s Lesley Yates highlighting the skills shortages in our industry and struggles to keep apprentices beyond year three, I felt as suppliers in the industry we could be doing more.
“This realisation soon turned into the apprentice program, with version 1.0 kicking off in October 2023 with Gates hosting more than 150 apprentices across an 18-month period at Supercar events around Australia.
“In conjunction with RAS we developed a program where apprentices submitted a video on why they would like a corporate experience at the track, with the chosen participants hand selected by Gates to attend. Four lucky apprentices also won a Bathurst 1000 experience of a lifetime at the 2023 event.
“The RAS apprentice program has been further expanded in 2024, and at each Supercar round we now make it possible for two RAS apprentices to work with the Penrite Racing team across the race weekend.
“Through this program I have also been proud to establish relationships with MTAQ, MTA SA-NT and VACC which has seen Gates also host the apprentices of these organisations at Supercar events.
“We have also integrated our sponsorship of the Apprentice Awards into our marketing strategy and worked hard to grow Gates brand awareness amongst the grassroots of our industry.”
With such an active role in encouraging newcomers to our industry, it is no surprise Priscilla is an integral part of the new ‘Accelerating Progress for Women in Automotive’ initiative.
This program is spear-headed by six very passionate and industry-leading women, with Priscilla working alongside AAAA Director of Government Relations and Advocacy, Lesley Yates; Amotiv (formerly GUD Holdings) Chief People Officer, Barbara Harrison; GPC Chief People Officer, Aileen Hayes; mycar Chief People Officer, Fiona Murphy;and BAPCOR Chief People and Culture Officer, Meryl Dooley.
“I was really humbled and excited when Lesley Yates reached out to me in early 2024 advising of this new initiative which some incredible ladies were working on, and how they thought I would be a perfect fit to join the group,” she said.
“Back in March 2023 I arranged a Gates Women’s Event at the Australian Grand Prix and we hosted 30 ladies in the Penrite Racing corporate suite from the Automotive and Industrial segment, and it was a chance to provide them with an opportunity to network with other like-minded women.
“At this event many of the attendees mentioned to me this was the first event of this kind that they had been invited to within the industry and something we should be doing more of.
“It was fantastic to launch the Women in Automotive initiative alongside International Women’s Day, and what has been more humbling since then is the support we have received from all of the major players in the automotive industry, and the enthusiasm to see what is next.
“Personally, this opportunity has enabled me to establish connections with some powerhouse women in the industry, who in many cases have become informal mentors to me.”
“But more importantly I am excited to be involved with this initiative to see how it evolves, and how we can connect and support women in the automotive industry; from apprentices just starting their careers, through to connecting future women leaders with other mentees that can share their experiences.”

Also earlier this year, Priscilla’s contributions to the industry were formally recognised at the Australian Auto Aftermarket Expo’s Excellence Awards.
“I was so honoured and humbled to be awarded the inaugural Women at the Wheel award,” she said.
“From beginning my career to working through the years progressing up the corporate ladder, I have never been one to seek out recognition; I have always just set about doing my job to the best of my ability, meeting our customers’ needs and setting the best example I can for my team and peers.
“Throughout the years you make many connections within the industry, and I guess after 20 years I underestimated the impact of what I thought was ‘just doing my job’ actually had outside the walls of Gates.
“To be recognised by the industry and my peers and to be awarded with the first female specific award in our industry has been such a proud moment in my career.”
Gates Corporation is a leading manufacturer of application-specific fluid power and power transmission solutions, driven to push the boundaries of materials science to engineer products that continually exceed expectations.
Gates says it doesn’t rest on its rich 110-plus year heritage of innovation, instead leveraging it to inspire solutions that will power the next hundred years.
Gates states it invests continually in R&D and technology, so its products not only outperform industry standards; they exceed its customers’ demanding expectations.
Further, Gates is proud to invest in its people, bringing real-world experience that enables it to solve its customers’ diverse challenges of today and anticipate those of tomorrow.
Gates is also constantly expanding its product catalog and value-added service offerings to support every facet of its customers’ operations, stating that in the most extreme environments and those more familiar, Gates is there with the right product, in the right place at the right time.
Whether you are building original equipment or maintaining products in the aftermarket, Gates says it enables companies in every industry to be more efficient, productive, and profitable.
Gates Australia has long been a member of the AAAA, with Priscilla noting numerous benefits of its enduring membership.
“Being a major supplier in the Automotive Aftermarket, I feel it is important to support the industry association, as they help ensure our industry remains viable for years to come,” she said.
“Also, the AAAA enables networking within our industry and opportunities for Gates to promote our brand industry wide.”
When not hard at work, Priscilla enjoys travelling and spending time with her family.
“I try to visit new places whenever I can. Italy is still one of my favourite places in the world, and whenever I travel to Europe I always try to stopover somewhere in Italy,” she said.
“I am also extremely close with my family, and they are an important part of what keeps me grounded.
“While I love travelling for my job and to be able to see customers all over Australia and New Zealand, I am always happy to come home to my family.
“I don’t have any children, but I am always happy to come home to our dog ‘Harry’!
“I also have a deep passion for food and wine, both cooking for family and friends, and dining out at restaurants. It is common for me in my downtime to be planning my next foodie adventure either in Australia or around the world!”

To learn more about Gates, visit www.gatesaustralia.com.au