Amy DiPaolo

For me, it's always been a story of just wanting to continually work to better myself and help the people around me. I just have a lot of grit and determination. I really do like to mentor, and that gives me an outlet to be able to mentor a lot of the younger people in the industry at the NAEC, and I do that personally as well. I really like to impart my knowledge to others so that this industry continues in the way that I want to see it - traditional values while embracing the new technology. I never be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and try something new, because if you don't, you're gonna get left behind in this world. You have to be willing to accept new things while imparting your traditional knowledge as you rise. I'm never afraid to accept a challenge, and I always say to people, be generous with your time for others, because I really feel like it's important and it's incumbent upon us to teach the next generation what we know.

Being a woman in a male-dominated industry, I definitely had mentors on individual aspects of what I do. I have one particular mentor that got me involved with the National Association of Elevator Contractors, and volunteering my time, and getting involved in that association, so that I meet socially other people in the industry, and that really affected my career. Because of the people I met in that industry, I was given opportunities that I wouldn't necessarily have had, had I not done that. So I think he was my biggest mentor, and getting me involved in volunteerism in the industry and networking. And through that, it really did change my career path.

I think for females, it's a different path in my industry because it's construction, and there's still views out there of what women can do in construction. I would say don't let anything stop you from learning. Really push the boundaries and get out of your comfort zone to try new positions - don't go with what's comfortable. If you want to get ahead in the world and get into executive positions eventually in your life, if you stay where you're comfortable, it's not going to happen, so push yourself beyond your boundaries, and take opportunities that are put in front of you. We just don't have the opportunities that men do, so when they are put in front of you, even if it sounds uncomfortable, a position that you don't know, and you'll get imposter syndrome, if you want to get somewhere in life, you have to push yourself. And you'll realize that once you get there, a lot of positions are ones you kind of learn as you go. I like to tell people that I mentor that the very first person that took that position that you're afraid to take didn't know what they were doing. They had to invent themselves, and they never were experienced in that position before, because it was created new for them. So they may look like they knew what they were doing, but they helped evolve that position, and that's exactly what you have to do. You have to evolve to that position, or the position evolves to you. But either way, if you push yourself out of your comfort zone, that's the way you achieve goals. Always keep in mind that the first person to be in that position never did it before.

Our business is a service and construction business, so it's very closely related to the economy. If you go back to COVID, it was parts procurement and just really being able to service because of the long lead times. Now that's calmed down quite a bit, and I would say the challenge is just people budgeting the money to upgrade the infrastructure, which is in desperate need. A lot of the infrastructure in the United States, especially in buildings, is aged, and it needs upgrades, and people have to find the money for that. Otherwise, a lot of the equipment shuts down a lot because it's old, and people want service like they just bought a brand new elevator, and it doesn't work that way. So getting the money into the infrastructure to do the upgrades seems to be challenging. We do have people that plan properly and do sign work to modernize, but that's a big challenge right now - the owners being disciplined enough, or have the money enough, to actually modernize their equipment.

Just truth. If you try and hide something, it just gets uglier and uglier. Be transparent. It's just the number one philosophy that I can tell everybody. Transparency is everything. When you make a mistake, there is always a solution. It may not be one that you like, it may be one you do like, but there is always a solution, and if you've been transparent, it's easier to come up with that solution. So that transparency, I believe, is everything. And it just makes it easier for everybody to understand what's going on, so that if there is an issue, it's kind of all hands on deck, because you've laid it out there, and there's nothing to hide. So for me, transparency, being transparent and truthful is the number one priority.