In
William Ramsey
Profile
Bill Ramsey came to WVU knowing that he would be an engineer. He found out about IE from college literature. While in college, Bill had a number of summer jobs as an hourly employee. These experiences gave him a real sense of the work environment of front line employees.
When Bill graduated from WVU, he went to the Katz School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh. He was offered a job by Procter and Gamble and worked there for 11 years – first in manufacturing and then the engineering and systems division.
Bill felt stifled in his career at P&G, so he left P&G to become the plant manager at Clorox. From there, he became the Director of Operations at Schneider Transport and next the Vice President of Home Health Operations and finally Vice President of Strategic Business Planning at Baxter International.
His career took an entrepreneurial turn when he was the Chief Operating Officer of a company attempting to develop an innovative cancer therapy. Unfortunately, the business ran through its venture capital before a successful therapy could be discovered. “There are times when the less certain career path makes for real challenges. This one certainly did that.”
In the second half of his forty year career, Bill started his own company supporting the industrial and stationary battery industry. “This was a family decision,” Bill says. “My wife helped immensely. If you start your own business, it has to be a decision that your entire family has to support.”
Bill created and manufactured a variety of specialty chemical products and safety products used by battery sales and service companies. “This was an industry that had long lacked innovation when it came to making industrial and stationary batteries operate safer and longer.”
After twenty years operating his own business he sold it and started an entirely new career direction. “I’ve done a lot of writing in my career and always enjoyed it.” Bill has published four non-fiction books. He is involved with writing organizations and local literacy issues.
He serves as a trustee on select non-profit boards with special attention paid to the needs of the community college.
Bio
Bill graduated from WVU with a BS industrial Engineering (1965). He then studied at University of Pittsburgh – Katz School of Business, graduating with an MBA.
His business career saw his first twenty years spent in a variety of positions in corporations both large and small. He first joined Procter and Gamble where his assignments started in manufacturing followed by assignments in Industrial Engineering and Systems. He also worked at Schneider Transport (Director of Operations) and Baxter International where he was Vice President of Home Health operations and then Vice President of Strategic Business Planning.
Twenty years into his career, he started his own specialty chemicals business with which manufactured and distributed chemical products, service and handling equipment and safety products through a national network of industrial and stationary battery dealers.
In retirement, Bill followed his lifelong passion for writing which started in high school as a sports columnist for the local newspaper. The author of four books, he shares his thoughts about life (with a few laughs) in concise essays on his blog at billramseyblog.wordpress.com. He writes candidly about real life issues.
Bill serves on the Board of Trustees of the North Carolina Writer’s Network and of the Blue Ridge Community College. Involved with many literacy issues, he also supports the Blue Ridge Literacy Council, Henderson County Public Library and various writer groups.
He lives the happy life of a retiree in the mountains of North Carolina with his wife of fifty years, Donna. More information about Bill Ramsey and one click access to his books is available at www.authorbillramsey.com
