Leslie Prevish – Women's Outreach Manager, Harley-Davidson Motor Co.

This Harley-Davidson exec and 20-year motorcycle rider talks about adventure on the road- and a happy, successful career.

By Taylor Mallory

Leslie Prevish started riding motorcycles with her father as a child. “I remember one ride with him when I was 8-years-old,” she says. “He passed away from a heart attack a few months later, and Mom sold it.” Then, Prevish didn’t ride again until she lived with her brother in college. “He was giving me rides on his old motorcycle and finally said, ‘You can quit bugging me for rides if you take the motorcycle safety course. Then you can take it out whenever you want.’ At that time, women were about 4 percent of all riders. But I thought, well, yes I can. And I had no idea then how it would change my life in so many ways.”

This began a beautiful relationship – which eventually became a career. Today Prevish is the women’s outreach manager (a position she lobbied to have created) for Harley-Davidson Motor Co. (HD).

Prevish talks to PINK about how riding changed her life – and how she created her own career opportunities.

PINK: What’s the biggest challenge you’re dealing with at work right now?
Leslie Prevish: My biggest challenge is to change some of the stereotypes out there. Some people say, “I know what a biker chick is.” I don’t like that term – or “motorcycle mama”. I’d love to erase those phrases and educate the mainstream public that we’re diverse. There are executives and soccer moms who ride. Common characteristics among all of us are the love of freedom and adventure – and that we like to challenge stereotypes. This is not just for guys. At a ball game recently, I told a guy that I ride motorcycles, and he said, “You don’t look like a female rider.” I asked him what a typical female rider looked like. He just made a face. I could guess what he was thinking, and that’s what I want to help change.  Women now have more freedom of expression and the financial independence to say, “I want to ride a motorcycle and I’m going to do it.” In the last 20 years, women have become one of the fastest growing markets for motorcycle consumers. In 1990, we were 4 percent of riders. Today, we’re 12 percent. Some of our dealers are selling 20 percent or more of their new bikes to women.

PINK: How does riding add to your life?
L.P.: I can’t imagine my life without riding. It’s brought me more freedom and adventure in the last 20 years than I could have ever imagined. You just feel alive. You’ve got a roof over your head in a car, which we call cages in this industry. On a motorcycle, you can smell the espresso outside the coffee shop when you ride through Italy or the flowers and pine trees in the California mountains. It takes you to the edge of emotion. You feel more active in your environment. I’d rather be doing something than passively letting life go by. I have two bikes. I just bought a Buell Ulysses XT, an adventure sports bike, because I love twisty roads and doing tours. I also get to ride Harleys and love cruising on them as well.

PINK: Studies show that motorcycle accidents are much more likely to result in death or injury than car accidents. Isn’t riding scary?
L.P.: You always have to be aware of other elements. It’s not just the cars. Sometimes there are animals. But I don’t dwell on that. You have scary moments in your car when someone pulls into your lane. Something unexpected can always happen. But on the bike, I’m more aware of what’s going on around me. In fact, it’s made me a much more defensive driver – both on my bike and in my car.

PINK: To what do you attribute your professional success?
L.P.: Having vision, goals and determination. I’ve had six positions at HD, two of them I lobbied to have created by convincing leadership that the opportunity was ripe for increased focus around women. I was working in PR and realized we really needed an organized women’s outreach group. We had someone dedicated for young adults, Hispanics and African-Americans, but all the women’s efforts were spread out between different groups – sales, PR and Web. Because a lot of groups were working on it, I thought it would be useful to have one person guide the strategic direction and make it a real focus for us, and the leadership agreed. Fifteen years ago, I was attending Ohio State and was going out with a guy who asked me what my dream job would be. I said, “My dream job would be to market motorcycles to women.” He laughed and said no one would ever pay me to do that. Last year I sent him a Christmas card with my new business card and a little note. He never responded.

PINK: How do you define success on a personal level?
L.P.: I know it sounds corny and everyone says this, but I really do want to make a difference. I get to work with many others in the company and our dealer network to encourage and mentor others to ride. I read the stories on our website of why women ride and how they are inspiring others, and that makes me feel like my job is worth every minute – even the long days of meetings! I’m helping to share the passion and love I’ve had for riding with other women – and take them to the next level.

PINK: How do you manage your Life/Work balance?
L.P.: I work hard, and I play hard. I schedule time for each. I like to get out there and ride and travel. I also like to spend time with friends and really enjoy life. I want to be an active participant in life, not a passive viewer. I do triathlons so I make time for swimming, running and bicycling each week. I weave travel into work travel whenever possible. I put all that on my calendar to say that it’s a priority along with working. But But I also enjoy being spontaneous. If I have an opportunity to spend time with friends one evening, I do it, knowing I can move my 10-mile run to the next day – as long as the night isn’t a late one.

PINK: What’s the best business advice you’ve ever gotten?
L.P.: A dealer I worked for once told me, “Leslie, FIDO. Forget It, Drive On. Don’t sit and spin after something happens. Learn something from your mistake and make a better decision next time.” I learn from a new challenge every day. As women, we tend to take things personally. Whenever someone is talking about an initiative we’ve had and has some negative feedback on it, I try to remember that it is a critique about the initiative and we can make it better next time, and it is not a personal critique.

PINK: What do you want women to know about riding?
L.P.: If you’re interested in riding, take the course. It’s just a weekend, and it will change your life. I hate to hear women say, “I would love to ride, but …” Address your fears and realize that most of them are in your head. Riding isn’t for everyone, but if you’ve got the desire, you should have no regrets. Just try it. You’ll find an adventure like you never dreamed.