For Courtney Hamilton, director of Enterprise Business at Huawei Jamaica, embracing new technologies and applying them is the way to evolve in today’s world. Being part of a 190,000-member team, Hamilton says Huawei’s focus has always been on innovation, with over 45 per cent of all Huawei team members employed in R&D. “Hard work and innovation, that’s what keeps us ahead of the game,” Hamilton boldly stated.

The 26-year veteran boasts several years of experience across territories and companies — including six years in Grand Cayman as head of enterprise solutions. Hamilton served for nine years as a director of PBS Technologies/MASSY Technologies/ILLUMINAT (Jamaica) Limited. He led the first office equipment business unit and later all sales business units. “The Jamaican people are tremendously adaptive and are very fast learners if only we are given the opportunity. We have come a far way since the days of party line and waiting years for a landline. We lead the region in 3G and 4G technology and if we follow through on some of our plans around broadband infrastructure investment we will again change the lives of many Jamaicans as technology and technological innovations improve and expand access across the country,” Hamilton said. “Through our efforts here in Jamaica, we seek to provide leadership in these areas and help to drive adoption in these and other areas,” he explained.

As director of enterprise business group for the Jamaica office, he also supervises product deployment for The Bahamas, Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Turks & Caicos and Haiti. The products include servers, storage, networking, intelligent video solutions and solar solutions. “These days are both exciting and scary all at the same time. With technology threatening to take jobs and change lives, some have said it’s a crisis. However, the Chinese use two characters to write the word ‘crisis’; one means danger and the other opportunity. I tend to focus on the opportunities and they are tremendous so the future is bright. Unlike any other global technology company, Huawei is here in Jamaica employing Jamaicans and developing local ICT talent. This is a deliberate strategy to immerse ourselves in the markets in which we do business and I believe Jamaica is better for it,” Hamilton added.

The company’s global Seeds for the Future programme allows tertiary-level students to experience China at Huawei headquarters, immersed in First-World technology and practices. Students were included this year via virtual learning and interaction. Over the years, several of the past students have gone on to high-placed jobs in ICT in local companies and Huawei Jamaica.

Hamilton now settles into his role as director, enterprise solutions, ready to extend Huawei’s lead in the global race to a digital economy. In Jamaica and the region, Hamilton’s ambitions are to drive solutions that uplift, empower and elevate the brand.