Victoria Holt is the highest ranking female executive at PPG Industries. As senior vice president, glass & fiber glass, she oversees businesses that employ 6,110 employees worldwide and generated $2.2 billion in sales last year.

Q: PPG recently announced plans to sell its automotive glass business to Platinum Equity, a California-based private equity fund, for $500 million. What's the outlook for the rest of the glass businesses that you oversee?

A: I'm not going to speculate on what the future looks like because at any point in time, things could occur.

What I will say is when you look at the performance glazings business, which is our architectural glass, we have tremendous opportunity for growth.

We're in a difficult time right now. We're primarily regional in the United States so we're much impacted by the U.S. residential housing market. That's hurting us. On the other hand, the commercial market is strong and the use of value-added glass is growing at a very high rate. What I mean by value-added glass is that it improves the performance of buildings and homes and improves the energy efficiency of those buildings.

The fiber glass business has just come through a very significant turnaround. We've completely changed our global manufacturing footprint. We've added capacity in Asia particularly for high labor content products and significantly reduced costs in the U.S. and Western Europe so now we are very much globally competitive.

And we've positioned ourselves for growth in some very high growth segments particularly energy and energy infrastructure. ... We're positioned very well in this kind of convergence of two megatrends: energy scarcity and global climate change.

Q: Why is PPG getting out of the automotive glass business?

A: Today there's a lot of pressure on corporations to really find their sweet spot and build on that sweet spot. I think you see us doing that with our focus on leadership in coatings and specialty materials. When you look at the automotive glass and services business, frankly, it has some specialty components but it is also at a point where it needed a significant amount of change.

The business is almost entirely U.S.-based. Today, particularly in the automotive business, you've got to have a global footprint. We had to make changes fundamentally in our cost charges. ... I think we've done the right thing for the people in the business as well as for PPG by going ahead and proceeding with the transaction.

Q: Do you think Platinum will close any glass plants (including those closest to Pittsburgh in Creighton; Meadville, Crawford County; and Tipton, Blair County)?

A: I think they're going to have to take a look at what the footprint should be over the long term. I'm not going to speculate. ... What I've said to those folks a number of times is that PPG is executing an overall corporate strategy to really focus on the sweet spot. It has nothing to do with the people in that business.

We've got great people executing in a very challenging U.S. automotive market going [through] its own transformation and restructuring. They're now going to be owned by a company that will fund what has to happen for full transformation of that business, which is a restructuring of the cost base and well as investment in emerging regions and globalization.

Q: Speaking of globalization, PPG is focusing intensely on growth in Asia. How has your experience been as a woman doing business in China and other Far East countries?

A: It's exciting. Sometimes when I'm there I think this is what it must have been like [in the U.S.] in the mid- to late-1800s, in the Andrew Carnegie days, because everybody's focused, frankly, on making money. You see a lot of entrepreneurs, a lot of investment and a tremendous amount of energy across all walks of life in China.

But you do have your obstacles. It can be somewhat bureaucratic at times to get some things done ... [Being a woman] hasn't presented an obstacle. In fact, sometimes I think it can be turned into an advantage because I'm a little bit different and I certainly get the right kind of attention. Provided I know my facts, am knowledgeable, and can bring value, I can garner their respect.

Q: Have you encountered obstacles as a woman climbing the corporate ladder at PPG or Monsanto [a previous employer] -- two very traditional, male-dominated companies?

A: I would not call anything obstacles. One of the things I think I've done very well in my career is I listen well. I observe, and I watch. I understand that in order to be effective in accomplishing what I need to accomplish, I've got to work within the parameters of a culture that exists, whether it be corporate culture or even a culture within a business unit I happen to be involved with. I've got to find out how to get things done and how to effectively use the organization to get it done.

As long as people are open to adjusting to what has to happen to accomplish the ultimate objectives for the business, I don't find them to be obstacles. But you do have to listen. Just as any man coming into a new organization has to do the same thing. ... I've never had a problem with being respected, although I have been involved with organizations that all value diversity. For PPG, it's one of our core values. We embrace diversity.

Q: Your undergraduate degree is in chemistry. Did you always plan on pursuing a business career or were you thinking originally of science or research?

A: I wish it had been as well planned. It really wasn't. In college, I had already met my husband. He wanted to go on and get a doctorate [in molecular biology]. So I figured one of us had to work. I went into sales and marketing.

I've always been really lucky in that every role I've had the chance to be in, I've always learned so much. I've always moved to another role before I was ready to leave the last one. Each of the manufacturing businesses I've been in have been technically oriented. So I kind of feel almost like I've gotten a chemical engineering degree as I've gone through my business career.

Q: You sit on the board of Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, which is having a smash success with its current exhibit of Dale Chihuly glass creations. What is PPG's connection with the show?

A: PPG is a major sponsor and supporter. (PPG Industries Foundation provided $150,000 to help fund the show). Glass is part of our heritage and we have a number of products featured within Phipps Conservatory. ... It's a good fit for PPG and for me personally. I've been a Dale Chihuly fan for years. So that was easy for me. I knew I would be impressed.