Marlon Cooper, CEO of Symptai Consulting and Kingston Tech (established July 2021), started his career as an internal auditor at Air Jamaica. Thanks to a “techie”, he discovered using data analysis software to conduct field audits which ultimately led to an opportunity for him to join Symptai in 1999.

Before becoming CEO, Cooper learned the importance of playing to win rather than playing not to lose, which means continuously exploring opportunities and not remaining comfortable with the tried and proven — a thought process he still regards as crucial to making decisions and taking risks. In addition to having strategic responsibility for the company’s plans, Cooper believes it is essential to lead with authenticity and constructive energy, inspiring his team to deliver the best results. As one of the founding principles of Symptai, he also noted that making an impact by playing in bigger and bigger ponds while providing world-class services and experiences to clients is vital.

Symptai’s clients benefit from an expert team that use the best global standards and approaches to create tailored solutions for their needs, risk appetite, strategic goals, and budget, resulting in positive client relationships and referrals for other consulting projects. Cooper emphasised that Symptai has continually monitored the pulse of the industry, identifying new and emerging trends and opportunities to drive client value ultimately.

Symptai was able to navigate the pandemic smoothly because of the network infrastructure that the team was already working within. However, their clients needed support in transitioning to secure and productive remote operations. In response, Symptai engaged their clients by doing pro bono work-from-home and technology needs assessments to support their continuation of quality service delivery in the new hybrid environment.

A new partnership with Digicel provides a broader and more robust technology ecosystem combining infrastructure and products with services to give Caribbean companies access to solutions to help drive their digital transformation and strategic initiatives. The partnership underscores Cooper and his team’s vision to leverage the resources available in the region coupled with information and insights into areas such as cybersecurity, anti-money laundering, data privacy and protection and digital transformation to increase the region’s “technology maturity standard”. The new partnership will allow the company to adequately resource ideas and projects developed in their recently established innovation lab. A chief information officer “CIO circle” has been soft-launched to facilitate knowledge sharing based on global industry standards, as the role of CIOs has evolved to focus more on strategy and decision-making.

The recently launched Kingston Tech aims to expand its software developers and application support specialists and grow its client base to take full advantage of nearshore opportunities to benefit the region in the coming years.

Ultimately, Cooper strives to provide his team with the autonomy to lead with their best selves, resulting in their exemplary work and delivering exponential results. He envisions that young talent will have the opportunity to grow their careers in Jamaican tech companies like Symptai and Kingston Tech.