BY LA SHAWNA GRIFFITH
Quality Performance Systems Inc. is a Barbadian information technology business, which has been operating since 1990. The business is a family-run operation that has at its helm Belnando Weekes who is preparing to hand over the reins of the business to his twenty-two-year-old son Kyle in 2021.
In an interview Griffith Belnando said he began the business with a mere $453.00 and the help of three life-long friends.
“When we started there was a mere $453.00 in the bank and that served as our capital base. Fortunately, there was a life-long friend Shelstone Lorde of Integrated Computing who allowed us to share an office. Another friend Mervin Watson of Computer Science Clinic gave us our first computer, and yet another friend James Inniss placed his car at our disposal every day until we could get our own.
We were also fortunate to have Juann Greene onboard to ensure that the office was properly managed, creating stability for the company in its early years. We did have great support from a few friends, and this served us well for the years that followed. Thirty years later the company is still here, and we are looking to be around for another 120.”
Reflecting on the three decades that he has successfully run one of the leading IT companies in Barbados, he said one of the main things he tried to do was to ensure that their clients were always on the cutting edge of technology, keeping pace with the developments in the first world.
“We were successful in serving in most of the islands of the Caribbean for more than two decades. We have also done work in Florida and Georgia, all of these adding up to many successful years in business,” Belnando [CEO] stated.
Barbados celebrated its 54th year of independence on November 30th, 2020 and it is not uncommon to hear of these Barbadian success stories, but for QPS it is a bit different as Mr. Weekes is handing the company over to his son who is only twenty-two-years-old.
What led to his decision?
Belnando told Toronto Caribbean Newspaper that from the company’s inception, it was his goal to have a family-owned business that would leave a legacy for others to follow.
“From inception, we always wanted to leave behind a legacy and such the company was built around that concept. It is not uncommon for families to carry on legacies for generations and it is expected that Quality Performance Systems Inc. will follow that pattern and continue for generations to come.”
The major question I am sure is on everyone’s lips, “Is his son ready to lead a company which has such a rich and vibrant family history?”
The answer to that question is yes, as his father Belnando has trained Kyle. He is already managing the company’s finances and social media accounts.
“He has met all of our clients and they know that he is in training to be the new face of Quality Performance Systems Inc. He enjoys management more than information technology and is working along with our accountant to better understand accounting practices and financial management. His training is in place and will continue long after he takes over the operations of the company,” Belnando said.
On the issue of retirement, Belnando stated, “Retirement is not in my DNA because I am very passionate about what my business does. I intend to keep going for as long as I can. Kyle will become the new face of the company, being more youthful and probably more in tune with the latest technologies but I will return to what I enjoy the most, building and developing new products/services for the market. I will also serve as a technical consultant.”
Kyle is very excited about this new opportunity and has plans to take the business throughout the Caribbean and beyond, with: IT training, network design, implementation and management, data security and cloud computing services.
“I want to take the company throughout the region and also tap into international markets such as Canada and the USA. Quality Performance Systems Inc. has the products, services and the expertise that we can play on the world stage with the bigger companies. Needless, to say, it will take some time to get established and be directly competitive, but we will get it done,” Kyle tells me.
For more information about Quality Performance Systems Inc. you can send an email to sales@qpstech.com or kyleweekes2016@gmail.com
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