As Data Solutions Manager within the Club’s data, analytics and technology team, Lydia Badoer’s career journey is fearless, bold and exploratory.

Sharing the beginning of her career journey at university graduation, Lydia shares that her trajectory was headed in a completely different direction.

“I originally studied law and I guess it was simply because I got the marks to get in and didn’t know what else to do. After six years and some interviews, I quickly realised that I had no interest in becoming a lawyer,” Lydia laughs.

At 24 years old she packed up her things to move to Perth to work in the corporate world at an indirect tax consultancy. “After three years I again realised this wasn’t the right for me and I had no ambitions of becoming a ‘top dog’. So, I quit my job, which was scary because I had a mortgage and no backup plan.”

During the summer Lydia started hosting open water surf sessions and ended up chatting with a stranger who would set her on a new path. “The stranger was on the board of Swimming Western Australia (WA), and I mentioned to him that I was interested in getting into sport. He ended up introducing me to the CEO of Swimming WA and I got a job there over a coffee.”

Starting off by handing out medals and setting up beach flags, Lydia was elevated to sponsorship coordinator and “just went with it even though I had no experience, and I think it’s because it came down to the effort I showed over the last couple of months.”

The commercial manager of Swimming WA later went on to get a job at the West Coast Eagles and soon after called Lydia to offer her a position. “Again, it wasn’t a job that I had any experience in (a premium sales and hospitality coordinator), but that’s the role that helped me realise my strengths in process improvement and organisational change.”

Soon after Lydia’s role started to shift to a commercial analyst, helping the Club implement more effective processes.

“Being a mad Collingwood supporter, I found it tough working at the Eagles, especially since I started working there a week after the 2018 Grand Final,” Lydia giggled.

A marketing role became available at Collingwood and she thought “I don’t have a marketing background at all, but I know I can learn, and I think that’s what got me the job.”

“I sat in the marketing team for a while and with my inquisitive nature of asking questions, I could see some opportunities at Collingwood. I ended up taking a step back from marketing and got more involved in the Customer Data Platform (CDP) project. Shifting into a project management/business analyst role, I now sit with the data team and have since stepped up as a manager.”

Sharing her journey of empowerment to take steps and change career paths, Lydia shares a piece of advice that would benefit all females working at the junior level.

“I feel like as females we almost have this subconscious thought of ‘I need to be at a workplace for a certain amount of time to be able to integrate myself to have my voice heard. I say go completely against that and speak up from the get-go and remember that you have experience and good ideas to share.”

Lydia continues “I also think it’s important to stop using words to diminish your voice. I would catch myself at the start of my career saying, ‘just following up’ or ‘sorry if this is a dumb question.’ Try to notice when you start using those words and replace them with words that are certain and confident because you are.”

 The Club’s Women in Black and White Group will continue to profile the women and non-binary people of the Club each month in 2025.