As a doyenne of the audio-visual electronic industry Teisha DuQuesnay, managing director of Supreme Audio and Electronics (SAE), has for more than a decade been a visionary behind a range of projects in the areas of fabrication, installation, maintenance and the repair of audio, video, and public address systems locally.

Through the company established by her husband Staurt DuQuesnay in 1999, which she joined some years later, DuQuesnay, along with her daughter Abigail and other support staff now, works to deliver a wide range of services to residential and commercial clients, offering them audio-visual solutions, intercom, access control, public address systems, and much more.

A trained business management professional, her expertise in the field did not come overnight as she had to, on many occasions, get her hands dirty — and a few of her nails chipped — as she challenged herself to learn on the job, which ultimately helped to shape the path in her becoming a trailblazer in what is largely regarded as a male-dominated industry.

“I am largely responsible for the day-to-day business operations of the company — which includes human resources, accounts, and so much more — but I do get involved with projects from time to time. I did not expect to become the manager for a company that deals with fabrication and audio visual equipment but I’ve learnt to apply myself over time, as when you operate in such a space it’s not enough to know just the administrative aspect but also the technical parts of the business, which normally deals with what the business is really about,” she said.

Crediting the efforts of her husband who has helped to push her growth in the field, the managing director said it was his assistance in teaching her the business that has led her ability to move past the basics to mastering the fundamentals.

“I am a continuous student of the industry but it feels good when I can go to the production area and have a fulsome conversation with the different members of the team about what they’re doing, how they’re doing it, etc. In the absence of the production supervisor I can also run that department with no issues as I understand the areas and can offer suggestions on possible solutions,” she told the Jamaica Observer in an interview following her selection as one of J Wray & Nephew’s (JWN) Spirited Women for this year’s season.

Supported by a capable staff complement of some 20 members, the SAE team is made up of other in-house professions including carpenters, metal fabricators, automotive electricians, technicians, engineers, and other experts.

“There is a lot of collaboration in this field as gone are the days when one could just get a piece of board, screw it together, and put a speaker in. There is now a lot of technical work involved, and so collaboration is very important as input from various team members is highly required,” she stated

Particularly proud of her company’s mobile application service, this segment, she said, allows her to work with JWN and a number of other large clients such as NCB and The UWI for which her company designs and installs mobile solutions. With the mobile units, businesses are able to cut some costs while taking advantage of the opportunity to take their businesses on the road, whether for promotional or operational purposes.

“We design and build mobile solutions for companies, which could take the form of a mobile office, kitchen, or promotional vehicle. For companies such as JWN we have been working with them over 10 years, and our partnership continues to grow as we help them to fire up their different promotional campaigns. We started out with fabricating their mobile solutions but have later expanded in providing audio visual equipment for them, which is used at their Appleton Estate location for rum tours,” she said.

Grateful for lasting partnerships, especially that from JWN which has helped to push her company forward, DuQuesnay said every project has forced her to become more dynamic and versatile, as designs change to suit a particular brand or campaign.

As a spirited woman and a dynamic female in the industry, and with a need to stay focused and highly organised, she credits strong family support which over the years, she said, has continued to be the driving force behind her work ethic and successes. As a wife, mother and team leader, she further cites the need to compartmentalise as an essential strategy for any career-driven woman.

“For me, that work-life balance is very important as it involves how one takes care of themself and can still find time to include others. As such, I maintain a very strict calendar — which means if a task or appointment is not penciled in, it won’t get done. As a woman in business I think organising oneself is very important and so I urge persons to learn how to delegate and to prioritise, based on the order of importance,” she noted.

With artificial intelligence (AI) now the order of this era, the integration of robotics and more technologised processes, she believes, will further help to move the industry forward as it aids in having current processes bring about new and improved solutions.

“We have been incorporating a number of the latest products in our services but we also want to get to a place where we can also manufacture a lot of these, instead of having to rely on imports. This is also a lucrative industry, so we want to ensure that we are positioning to take advantage of all opportunities as we continue to offer the best in service to all our clients,” DuQuesnay said.