New industries, new innovations—women pioneers are everywhere. For this inspiring series, we’re asked our partner companies to submit one woman “Pathfinder” to represent their work, their products, their industry, or their values. (And often, all of the above.)
Meet Valerie Niver, Texas First Rentals Branch Manager at HOLT Group. She says her industry has changed for the better—and wants you to explore your career as a woman in construction.
What path are you forging?
I am currently the only female branch manager. My hope is that I can inspire other women to want to join this fast-paced and exciting industry. This industry is not just for men anymore, and women can have just as much if not more success if they put in the time and work.
What inspired you to pursue this field?
My husband and I moved to the Austin area when he accepted a promotion at the beginning of 2020 with HOLT CAT (a HOLT Group company) in Georgetown, Texas. I was inspired to apply to work for Texas First Rentals, a heavy equipment rental company (a HOLT Group company) as an inside sales rep at the Pflugerville location. The manager at the time suggested that I would make a bigger impact as their service writer, so I was brought on in August 2020 to fill that role. I methodically worked to organize service parts, processed work, and purchase orders, and familiarized myself with the equipment.
As time went on, I sought out more tasks and in doing so, learned the role of the inside sales rep. An opportunity opened to apply for a promotion, so I did and was promoted to operations manager at the same location where, through teamwork and dedication, the team and I were able to achieve the highest percentage of equipment on rent in company history to date. During this time, I also invested in myself through coaching, mentorship, and company-provided development classes. In May 2023, I applied to become the branch manager of the Belton, Texas, location, where I have been focusing on building a strong team, increasing revenue, and driving results.
What’s a cool project or program you’ve developed as a result of your work in this area?
I’ve helped streamline several of our processes and procedures at the branch level to improve efficiency. Over my time here, I have also been involved with training multiple individuals for the service writer, inside sales representative, and manager roles.
What resources or people have been influential in your success in your field?
My husband, Matt, has played a key role in my success. We have had a lot of evening conversations on the back porch about different situations I have encountered, different ways of handling them, and some of the best practices he has found when managing people. I had two great leaders and allies while at the Pflugerville branch, Seth Barclay and Cirilo Segovia, who taught me the ins and outs of the rental industry. They shared their knowledge of the equipment and industry while supporting me through my career development. I have also been fortunate to have had a strong service manager, Rick Pirkle, with me during my time in Pflugerville and currently in Belton. Rick has been instrumental in teaching me about the maintenance/service side of our business as well as working with me to promote a fun and safe working environment for our team.
HOLT also provides many different types of development classes that are geared toward self-awareness, how to communicate with different personality types, as well as how to properly identify individual development levels among others. These classes have played a huge part in my development, and I can honestly say that as a result, I am not the same person that I was four years ago when I started (in a good way). I have also been selected by my company to participate in our Leadership Development Program, which focuses on developing HOLT’s future leaders. I have thoroughly enjoyed taking advantage of all the opportunities that have been presented to me and look forward to future pursuits.
What advice would you give to aspiring professionals looking to break into and make an impact in emerging industries or technologies or at their company?
Sometimes the opportunity you are waiting for looks very different than the opportunity that is presented. I never thought I would hold any job in the construction industry; however, now I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. The other biggest piece of advice I can give is to ask questions. Asking questions will unlock endless possibilities whether it be from understanding the fundamentals of how something works, to understanding why someone is saying or doing something. Once you know the why, your next move becomes clear.
