Ralf Ellspermann takes on the role of a call center Columbus

Doctors in America dictate their findings into a digital voice recording system as soon as the patient leaves the room. These voice files are downloaded and converted into medical transcripts. For radiologists, in some cases, the turnaround time for the dictation to be typed is four hours maximum. What is amazing is that the people translating these transcripts are here in the Philippines. And brokers match these health providers with call centers that can do the jobs well.

One such middleman is Ralf Ellspermann, 32, who matches clients from America with the service-providers here. As CEO of Philippine IT Offshore Network, Ralf says that the industry is booming. In fact, the most successful call centers in the country are owned by US companies.

Our six-foot bachelor moved to this country two and a half years ago from Germany. Ralf talks about Bill Gates, the Bible and aiming for the stars.

What sports do you like most?

Working out in Gold‘s Gym.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

Turning away someone in need.

Which living person do you admire most?

Bill Gates who has done a remarkable thing: With no financial back-up, he set up one of the world’s most successful corporations, Microsoft, making it to the top in a very short time. He creates employment.

What is your passion?

To shoot for the stars and if you don’t reach it, you will still get to the moon. Aim high and improve yourself by being like the people who are better than you.

What is your most fervent wish?

To create an internationally known company with people I can rely on.

How do you resolve your conflicts?

My conflicts in the Philippines revolve around punctuality, and since I am German, I get nervous when people are late.

Where are you most comfortable?

At home in Rockwell.

What film influenced your life?

A couple of business movies like The Boiler Room and Wall Street. The Boiler Room is about these young grads who get jobs as stockbrokers. It shows how brutal life is in a global environment.

What book influenced your life?

The Bible gives me the guidelines that I need in my life.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

I tend to jump into projects and develop my ideas up to a certain point, and then I lose my focus and pass it on to someone else.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

People who promise a lot but don’t deliver. They do not stick to their commitment.

How do you start your day?

I am at work around 7 a.m. and sometimes stay there till past midnight. Our business deals with local companies in the daytime, and at night, I talk with our overseas clients.

What is your motto?

Be the best I can be in my personal life and in business. Don’t be satisfied just doing the job. You have to excel and be able to say every night that you did your very best.

What is your current state of mind?

I can always improve myself. Life is like a warehouse. You don’t buy everything. Just bring home what you think will add value to your life. The rest, you can return for. There are things that might be good for others so you leave them where they are.

What is your greatest extravagance?

My massage. Being alone with a good book and my Cuban cigar relaxing on the balcony.

Which historical character would you like to have been?

Columbus. He proved that the theories of the world being flat were wrong. He was very daring. He questioned what the church was saying. He was not satisfied with the world he was living in; always looking for new things, discovering new countries.

Name a moment that brings back happy memories.

I love the vacations I spent in Venezuela, also my high school years in Jacksonville, Florida.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

It is still in progress. My key objectives are to build a company that grows, to form a family and have a well-balanced life. I am working on the first objective now and the steps we have achieved make me quite proud of where we are. It is like a house under construction – not yet finished but it looks like we are on the right path.

Which famous quotation would you have wanted to be the author of?

Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.

What is your greatest regret?

I once saw a dog being seriously injured in Venezuela and he was bleeding. I wanted to get off the bus and help him. This picture comes back often to me and I regret not having helped him.

Who greets you when you get home?

The emptiness of my room and my television.

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E-mail babycamp2 @yahoo.co.uk.