How Women in a Male-Dominated Industry Can Build Influence and Lead with Holly Montrose

In this episode of the HVAC On-Air podcast, host Tony Mormino welcomes Holly Montrose, Senior Vice President of Sales Operations at Ambient Enterprises. Holly shares her unique journey from a chemistry major working in a clean room at Intel to becoming a leader in the HVAC industry. They discuss the critical role of company culture, the importance of "learning by osmosis" in a physical office setting, and how mentorship - both formal and informal - can shape a career.

Key Topics:
◾ The Power of Mentorship: Why mentorship doesn't always need to be formal and how seasoned professionals can nurture talent over time.
◾ Culture Over Talent: The argument for hiring for team fit and "teachable" energy rather than just technical experience on a resume.
◾ In-Person Learning: The "crisis of the office" and why being physically present is vital for new employees to learn technical nuances and build human connections.
◾ The Camera-On Theory: A discussion on how a team’s culture and engagement are directly reflected in their willingness to be visible during virtual meetings.
◾ Career Transitions: Navigating the "existential crisis" of a career that doesn't fit and finding the courage to transition into a completely new industry.

Episode Highlights and Timestamps:
[00:00:00] – Trailer and Introduction of Holly Montrose and her role as Senior VP of Sales Operations at Ambient Enterprises.
[00:02:18] – The mission of HVAC On-Air: Educating and empowering the community through both technical knowledge and human connection.
[00:07:49] – Holly’s early career at Intel, including the isolating experience of working in a "bunny suit" in a clean room.
[00:13:42] – Entering HVAC: How a Facebook post led to Holly’s first technical sales interview with zero industry experience.
[00:16:45] – Learning by "osmosis": Holly explains how she spent six months eavesdropping on application engineers to learn the industry.
[00:19:30] – Virtual etiquette: Why leaving cameras off during meetings can be a barrier to team engagement and connection.
[00:22:00] – Hiring for fit: Why Holly values "teachable energy" and culture over a stellar resume or technical background.
[00:25:36] – Pandemic shifts: Reflecting on selling respirator fit testers and how COVID-19 accelerated virtual collaboration tools.
[00:29:00] – AI as a Personal Assistant: Holly explains her "AI prompts" OneNote system and how she uses AI to instantly organize her Outlook commitments.
[00:31:40] – Gender Dynamics & Leadership: Holly and Tony discuss the nuances of communication in the workplace and Holly's "unpopular opinion" on being a woman in a male-dominated field.
[00:46:15] – Women in ASHRAE & Advocacy: Holly discusses the upcoming second annual national event and the inspiring level of male allyship and support in the industry.
[00:50:00] – Closing and "Mug Reveal": Tony presents Holly with a "Morning Startup" and "OnlyFans" (fan wall) themed mug to wrap up the maiden voyage.

🔗 Follow the guest, Holly Montrose:
👉 LinkedIn:   / holly-montrose  

🔗 Follow Ambient:
👉 Company: https://ambient-enterprises.com/
👉 LinkedIn:   / ambient-enterprises  

🔗 Follow the host, Tony Mormino:
👉 LinkedIn:   / ambient-enterprises  
👉 Instagram:   / tony_mormino  
👉 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?...
👉 TikTok: tiktok.com/@tonymormino

🎙️ Hosted by Tony Mormino, tune in to HVAC On-Air for the technical insights, engineering breakdowns, and professional development tools that drive our industry forward