LU Yosi Break: Sheila Paul, LU C.O.O.
I just got back from Munting Buhangin, Nasugbo, Batangas. The travel time was a bit longer than usual due to the traffic. Anyway, as promised, I’m here to post an exclusive interview with a top Level-up Officer who has decided to resign. She’s been with LU for so long already and I’m sure everyone here knows her! It’s sad that she’s leaving, but I’m happy for her because she’ll be moving on to follow her dreams. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s give a warm round of applause to the Chief Operating Officer of Level-up, Ms. Sheila Paul!
Wauks (W): Why are you resigning from Level-up Games?
Sheila (S): Joining Level Up! was the biggest risk that ever paid off for me. I have many personal goals in life that were fulfilled by Level Up! I got to help start up a company that pioneered an industry. I was able to help teach students about IT and train young talents that have gone on to achieve their own goals. I helped produce a rock album, mount a TV show, publish a book, stage the biggest event the World Trade Center has ever hosted, and make the Filipino youth part of the Ragnarok generation. But there are still some personal goals I look forward to accomplishing. Among them is to live independently and work in a foreign country, travel, and learn different cultures. I’ve decided that I’m ready to do that now because Level Up is in trustworthy hands.
W: How does it feel like leaving? You were part of the team that turned a small start-up company into a household name!
S: Leaving is one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make. I’m not only leaving a good career, I’m also leaving the most passionate, open minded, dynamic and talented people I’ve ever worked with. They are like family to me. I’m not sure it will be as easy and fun in my next life, but for my sanity I’m trying to keep in mind that the grind is always hardest before you level up.
W: What are your fondest memories here at Level-up? Maybe you can share with us 2-3?
S: The good old ghetto days were fun. I used to help set-up events, hook up PCs and tie-up streamers myself. Once I was doing that in Alabang Town Center just a few weeks into my job as Level Up Marketing Manager and the president of my old company passed me and said in surprise, “Sheila, is this what you left us for?†I said, “No sir, you don’t understand, I’m the Marketing Manager here!†Of course I hardly looked believable at that point but 6 months later when Ragnarok was making waves, I saw him again in a meeting where. I was so proud of what I had accomplished.
Videoke nights and beer buckets at 6.5, the office rooftop restaurant. It’s what really binds the Level Up family together, hahaha! My friends told me my singing really improved (after practicing every Friday night for a year) and they didn’t seem to be lying that badly.
The Ragnarok Philippine Championships at World Trade Center in 2005. When I watched the final round players with from all around the company, the other players watching and cheering them, the place was literally wall to wall filled with people all united with one interest, I was just so happy!
W: Do you have a crush on Ben Colayco?
S: I’d like to think he has a crush on me. Hahaha!
W: We all know that when ePLDT bought Level-up, they merged their gaming company, netGames, with LU. What can you say about the new Level-up (Post Merger)?
S: In the “new†Level Up, we retained the creativity and spirit of innovation that characterized the company from the start, but with the Netgames dimension, we were able harness the talent in the company and make it more disciplined and results-oriented. It was also great to see people mesh well, I guess I shouldn’t have been worried because all the employees love games! It’s also great to get the full backing of PLDT, because even back then a gaming company would never be able to function properly with the support of the country’s largest telco. There are so many more synergies we can do now. Lastly, both sides have learned (hard) lessons from the past and I think we brought it to the table so we can do so much better this time around.
W: Let’s get a little more personal, hehe. What were your thoughts about me when you found out that we were merging? (Since I was soooo anti-LU)
S: I have to admit that you were pretty infamous back then and I got a lot of “friendly†warnings about you. But I didn’t want to make a judgment without actually meeting you, so I did remember? What can I say, you blew me away! Magaling ka mag-BS, hahaha. I stamped down the naysayers and suggested they give you a chance too.
W: What do you think about me so far? (hehehe)
S: I think you’ve proven yourself so far Wauks. Keep it up! What I really appreciate is that you listen to your superiors, to your colleagues, and most of all, to the players. Then you’re gung-ho about getting things done.
W: Thanks for the kind words boss, hehe. o you have a message for the Ragnarok community?
S: Ragnarok will always be closest to my heart, both as a game and as a community. I lived and breathed it for some time— it’s the game that made me a gamer! Kahit ano pa mangyari, ito ang binabalik-balikan ko, and I think this is what its players feel, especially those guys from the BETA days. Now maybe I’ll get a chance to play again! I really got excited when I went to visit Gravity last November in Seoul and they told me that upcoming plans include changing the way WoE is played. There are still so many developments in store, plus RO2 is just a stone’s throw away. It would be nice to go back and say hi to old friends. Wag nyo lang ako pagtawanan kais naiwanan na ako sa low levels!
W: Do you have a message for the LU people who read this blog?
S: I will miss you guys so much! I hope what I’ve shared with you will help bring the company to greater heights. Good luck and keep in touch!
-end of interview-
Thanks so much boss! You’ve definitely given so much not just to Level-up, but for the entire Online Gaming Industry. You will be missed and all the best to you!
PS - More posts to come later tonight and tomorrow. I have a lot of catching up to do.
Take Care Ns. Sheila Paul
nothing special.
whether she leaves or someone new arrives, the LAG and DOWN MAPS are always there.
so it was Shiela, thanks and bye
BIG OT: could we move back the WOE times on weekdays to 7pm-9pm, 10pm is too late for students and most guild are doing some events right after siege…
@Argetlam
I was thinking of balancing everything out. Maybe we can have the Tuesdays siege at 7-9, thursdays at 8-10, and we keep the Saturday schedule?
[...] Thanks for your patience and support. Hopefully by Thursday, game play will be smoother and the latency problems will be reduced significantly. Lastly, if you haven’t checked out my recent post about LU COO Sheila Paul’s resignation, please click here. [...]
@Wauks 7pm-9pm would really be best on weekdays, I think this is beneficial for all, even for those working peeps, so we could rest early and prepare for the next days work, Saturday’s 4pm-6pm is perfect so I guess no change should be done
thanks
@ wauks
Edi ikaw na ang next LU C.O.O.? great job Mr. Carlo Ople….
@carlo
Err… no. I don’t have the credentials, experience, and the skills to be a COO anytime soon. Maybe when I’m 30++. The next movement for me would be handling Ragnarok Online 2 when it comes out.
@Wauks
nice interview fafs….
(sana may 3x or 2x s exp points next siege.. mas maganda kung 3x ule po.. ung mga tao kc d2 s shop eh hirap n hirap magpailaw(99) ng mga char nila..
last po.. ung RO2 po b separate s pRO ngaun? o parang enhancement lng ng pRO ngaun????
thx fafs…
Take Care nalang po Sheila Paul
AJA!
Way back 2005, I hosted the RPC Luzon Regionals at the Olongapo City Convention Center, when the time came for me to introduce the LU COO and ask for her to come up the stage and award the top winner in the art making contest, I was kinda expecting an old white haired prolly fat lady (sowee - got a small thingie inside my thick skull) to approach. You know the typical top lady executive types who just drown themselves in an endless sea of corporate mumbo jumbos. /heh
But lo and behold.. I was awestrucked.. dumbfounded, flabbergasted and most of all… found myself so deeply Fascinated!! Thought she was a Valkyrie sent from the Valhalla above, making her way across the hall and on to the stage….. Ms. Shiela Paul! Astounding!
Now I feel like.. I dunno… waaaaaaaahhh wont be able to see her again on any of LU’s upcoming major events!! /sobinezz
@shiela/wauks
does she play RO?
Nooooooooooooooooooo! Don’t leave, Shiela! Painom ka muna!
Seriously, you will be missed. Level Up! won’t be the same with the spunky Shiela Paul at its helm.
I hope she’ll keep in touch. I wish her luck in her new endeavor.
mag resign man sya o hindi. lag pa rin ang RO.
people come and go.
what stays behind is one of the many gauges with which that person is measured.
well, for an executive’s point of view, she has done well enough (though I can’t say that really since I’m just an RO player). let’s just hope that the next COO will also display the same love and interest to the game so that players will stay on with LU!’s games.
aw you mean nde mo na hahawakan ang pRO kapag meron nang pRO2?
Ah… the infamous “M’am Sheila” i keep hearing from some of the other people i know at LU.
Godspeed!
we will miss you ma’am she lalo na kaming nag training sa lug
changing the woe played? wow is that true? sir wauks can u tell us what can we expect on the new woe system?? im really excited about this.. weeee ^_^
lol e-drama
Wauks - thanks for giving me a chance to talk to the players and members of the community through your blog.
DJ_BB thanks for the major compliment di pa pala ako ganun ka lowlah hahaha ;-P
Chaos boy, yes i played RO, my highest level char was in Chaos…time to unearth it in Baldur!
Noa, Argetlam, HD+, Aerionn, super thanks for the good wishes.
Chester, nag-training ka dito? Anong dept? Sana nag-enjoy ka!
Joel, do I have your email? Kunin ko nga kay Jake para pag nagpainom ako before I leave imbitado ka. :-)
Jherskie - believe me the next COO has the same dedication to the company as I do…I’m happy to be passing the torch to him. What’s great is that he’s a technical guy so I’m hoping he can really improve the connectivity problems although a lot of that really relies on the internet infrastructure we have in the country. But I think there’s progress being made so just cross your fingers.
Kiko Matsing and ecurb, sana nga mawala na ang lag at down maps!
@ Wauks on WOE
For RPC, I think that since we have the “late-nighters” and “students” both needing to be prioritized, can we have a schedule kind of like this? Tuesday 8-10pm, Thursday 7-9pm and Saturday 3-5pm or 4-6pm.
Wasn’t Sheila Paul the one who was interviewed in that Inquirer article saying that LU! was turning a blind eye on people who were taking advantage of 3rd party programs or something to that extent?
WOE time sana ganito 7-9 tuesday and thursday 4-6 saturday
kac po dito sa mindanao wala na masakyan pag 9 pm
takot maputukan ng bomba mga tao 
sana maintindihan may naglalaro din dito sa mindanao
@Smiths
Internet news article a few months back.
The one who said that botting should be tolerated if memory serves me right. bah.
I will miss you, boss-friend. take care and keep in touch
I will miss you Sheila, my first boss in lu and a close and good friend and confidant to boot. I know you are now moving into bigger and better things and I wish you the best in all your endeavors. BTW sama ako sa painom ha
Sheila’s departure marks a new era for Level Up. You’ve finally removed the biggest scrap of offline media thinking in your corporate DNA. :)