THE INTERVIEW | MIGUEL TELLEZ
From one-man band to family ties
When passion leads the way and dedication follows, little can stand in your way, as Jim Banks finds out from Miguel Tellez, managing director of Tele Radio America. On a journey of more than 25 years in the radio control industry, he has had the courage to follow his heart, cross the Atlantic and build a new business from nothing.
B
y his own admission, Miguel Tellez is a man who follows his heart, and when he dedicates himself to something there is no holding back. Whether it is competing in Ironman championships, setting his personal best marathon time at the age of 50 – an impressive two hours 43 minutes – or following his then girlfriend and now wife to another continent, he has never shied away from a challenge. “I am a passionate person,” he says. “If I do something, I do it 120%. For me, 110% is not enough. I do everything to the full. When an opportunity presents itself, I step forward. I am the one who volunteers.” Now in charge of one the leading suppliers of radio control systems to the North American industrial lifting sector, Tellez has come a long way from his native country of Spain. Along the way, each step – large or small – came from his urge to stand up and be counted when a new
challenge arose, and his willingness to back himself to succeed even when he was stepping into the unknown. That is not to suggest that he has no foresight. In fact, he knew some things for certain from a very early age. “I have a very clear memory of when I was eight years old, and I was asked what I wanted to be when I became older,” he explains. “I said that I wanted to be a mechanical engineer, and that is exactly what I became. But then life throws unexpected things at you, and you have to be able to adapt.”
Taking chances For Tellez, the unexpected was a strong force that shaped his career right from the start. Having studied mechanical engineering at the University of Zaragoza, he was only able to put those skills to work for a few weeks before being asked to step into something outside of his core skill set. His first job was at tower cranes manufacturer Metalbo in Zaragoza, where he started work in1998, ending up as sales manager before moving on in 2000. “Out of college, I worked as a mechanical engineer for exactly three weeks, working with another engineer to design a tower crane,” he explains. “At the start of the company, we had three engineers working in different disciplines, but the electrical engineer soon left, and I was asked to take over that role.”
Tellez competing in the 2011 Ironman triathlon world championship.
“It was not what I had studied, but my father had a workshop and throughout my childhood I cleaned the floor and worked in it, learning about electrics and cars, so I stepped in,” he adds. “So, I found myself in charge of electrics and electronics. Then we needed a sales person to sell what we had designed, and again I was the one who stepped in.” Soon, Tellez found himself as the sales manager in a very family-oriented company, and this way of working as part of a close-knit team would influence his approach to building
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