BORN and raised in Porter’s Mountain, Westmoreland, the humble, passionate, family-oriented and technologically driven Roldane Henry recounts that growing up, accessibility to the Internet was a distant dream for him and his siblings. However, Henry was undeterred by the challenges and instead found viable alternatives to complete his school assignments. He also channelled his curiosity into learning and exploring how things worked by tinkering with household electronics.

Henry revealed that he was on a path to study engineering and ultimately become a pilot, having completed the sciences during his high school years at Manning’s School. However, his failed attempt to undertake the course of study opened the window of opportunity for him to pursue pure and applied sciences at The University of the West Indies, Mona, where he completed his double major in computer science and electronics. Later, Henry also gained a Master of Science in Computer-Based Management Information Systems.

During his university days Henry landed his first internship at eGov Jamaica Limited (then Fiscal Services Limited), where he gained significant and practical experience in IT. His career path ranged from computer engineer, senior systems engineer, and acting manager of data centre engineering to the infrastructure services lead at MC Systems. Henry explained that in the context of his role, “infrastructure” means the hardware and software used to process, transmit and store data and house network hosting services.

As infrastructure services lead, Henry oversees the support services relating to infrastructure needs to ensure that the customers’ business goals align with their IT operations. As a core function of MC Systems, Henry strategically focuses on developing an infrastructure growth plan to bring new services to the market and subsequent partnerships.

Task management is also a key factor for Henry, thus he uses a virtual kanban board to visualise and prioritise his tasks. His team also works in an agile environment which finds him doing regular “stand-up” check-in meetings to support team members. He also maintains relationships with their partners, who ultimately suggest IT solutions to provide more excellent value to their customers.

Henry recalls his team’s ability to complete required training in record time, which was crucial to maintaining one of their key partnerships to support their bottom line and meet their clients’ needs and expectations. He also highlighted a critical project that found his team commissioned to deploy a first-of-its-kind solution, noting it as a success despite the challenges of supply shortages and logistics bottlenecks. Henry sees the experience as a learning opportunity for future projects. As a result, his team took a more meticulous approach to understanding the requirements and considering the possible challenges for future customer engagements.

Henry believes that Jamaica has made significant strides toward becoming digitally transformed, highlighting the Data Protection Act and National Identification System (NIDS) as prime examples.

For 2030 Henry envisions a more digital literate society, particularly in the cybersecurity niche. He also believes technology should be more integrated into everyday living to offer efficiency and convenience. In addition, leveraging private and public sector partnerships will help lead the charge towards a digitally enabled Jamaica. He further noted that access to the technology to facilitate better learning outcomes, particularly for rural communities, is also a factor in Jamaica’s digital transformation initiatives.

Henry wants to continue giving people around him the opportunity to become their best selves by paying it forward. Henry is also thrilled to be an empathic and conscious leader keen on his team’s growth and development.