Penn, who is currently the Technology Development Manager at the Financial Services Commission (FSC), is proud of his achievements to date as he aspires to reach for higher heights, using the values and morals he has inherited from his community as his guiding light.

Hailed from Parham Town in East End, Penn said he just happened to fall into the area of Information Technology (IT), an area that he has now spent 13 years in and continues to see himself in the future.

“It was by luck. I studied Wood Work in high school and wanted to go into carpentry but there was no opportunity at the time and I needed a job, there was an opening at ISU and I went there and the rest is history. I just happen into it,” said the former student of the BVI High School class of 1995.

For the young professional, venturing in a completely different career path was a steep learning curb for him but he soon became very fascinated with the world of IT and how it worked and gravitated towards the field.

The growing fascination for technology led him to climb the ladder in his department and furthering his studies in the field.

In May 2004, Penn graduated with his Bachelor’s Degree in Management Information Systems from Temple University, of Philadelphia.

“I’ve always been ambitious, I had no choice; I grew up in a community where no less was expected.  I just try to do my best at whatever I put my hands to and do it properly,” said the ambitious young Virgin Islander.

Asked what he enjoys most about his technologically driven profession, the young professional said, “I enjoy how the deployment of IT solutions transforms our business at the FSC, by taking away the manual processes and replacing them with more streamlined and efficient processes. It’s rewarding to see we have moved from a stack of paper to being near paperless.”

“I see technology as a catalyst for moving Governments and businesses forward in terms of realising their full potential in the 21^st century,” Penn stated.

Reflecting on his 13 years of experience at the FSC, the Technology Development Manager said he would like to publicly thank the management of the Commission for affording him and his talented staff of IT professionals the latitude to deploy IT solutions that have made the FSC and Registry of Corporate Affairs one of the most technological and efficient registries in the entire Financial Services industry globally.

“I am extremely proud of our accomplishments as an organisation,” said the IT manager.

One of Penn’s crowning achievements as an IT professional was when he managed the development of the Virtual Integrated Registry Regulatory General Information Network (VIRRGIN) application; VIRRGIN is a 24/7 automated system that currently manages all the operations of the Registry of Corporate Affairs and Penn and his team are currently in the process of doing the same for the Regulatory Divisions.

“To understand what VIRRGIN means to the BVI you have to first appreciate the importance of the FSC to the BVI. The FSC represents more than 60 cents of every dollar spent by Government and VIRRGIN provides an efficient and reliable means of collecting that Revenue. No time VIRRGIN’s importance was more apparent than during the recent Hurricane Earl and floods. Throughout these events VIRRGIN was available to our clients 24/7; in fact, I even had clients boasting how they were able to file transactions during the hurricane and floods. This is significant as it shows the resilience and reliability of the Financial Services Industry in the BVI,” Penn explained.

“The FSC was able to do with VIRRGIN what many of our competitors around the world have failed at; that is, develop a fully technologically driven Registry. Actually, our competitors come to us for guidance on doing their systems and that says we have done a good job. VIRRGIN’s achievements thus far took a team effort, from management down. I must however recognize my talented team of IT professionals at the FSC, whom without their hard work and dedications VIRRGIN would not be possible,” the IT manager acknowledged.

He said the VIRRGIN project and the FSC as an organisation should serve as a model for the Virgin Islands as it proves that once given the opportunity, young talented Virgin Islanders can achieve extraordinary heights.        

Penn said from a technological prospective the IT manager is the highest he can reach locally; but he does have his own personal aspiration and has recently started his own Business Technology Consulting firm with a friend, PBS – Portal Business Solutions (BVI) Limited. 

“We just started and are trying to put the infrastructure in place and make the connections and hopefully we will start marketing to prospective clients soon,” said Penn who is in the process of developing a website for his own business.

Penn is also a member of the CIO Executive Council of the United States and the Pathways Leadership Development Programme, which are geared towards developing the potential of future leaders. His involvement in CIO over the past three years has led him to have the opportunity to meet and interact with several top business executives including those from Fortune 500 companies.

And as an aspiring businessman himself, Penn noted the benefits he derived from such opportunities.

However, while he has been the beneficiary of several mentoring and community moulding, he sees the need for locally professional mentorship programmes to help guide the future generation of young minds. Noting of his involvement with the recently formed People’s Progressive Movement organisation, Penn said one of the things that they plan to do is to put such programmes in place to benefit young people among other things.

While he is proud of his accomplishments and continues to strive for better things, the former student of the then East End Primary School wants more than ever to give back to his community, a community that has been pivotal in his upbringing.

“For me personally, my family, friends and the east end community as a whole was the driving force for me being successful,” said Penn.

“I remember growing up and some of the pitfalls that young people fall in were in my way as well but I had the community and people to help me to overcome those challenges,” he recalled.

However, Penn said today there is that lack of figures in the community to guide the new generation of young people coming up and said he too is guilty of not doing enough.

“He who much is given, much is expected,” Penn related, “Persons like myself who have achieved success in our professional life we have a responsibility to give back to our community.”

He has made a commitment and has already started to put things in place to give back to the youth in his community and to set an example so that they can follow.

Penn is involved in the East End Long Look Advocates for a Better Community (EE/LL ABC) and East End Young Adults of the East End Methodist Church. The EE/LL ABC community group is looking to partner with organisations in the community to help develop programmes to benefit the youth in the near future.

In addition, they have been responsible for helping to fix the sidewalks in certain parts of the East End community as the community-minded young man made it clear that they do not have to depend on government alone to do everything.

“I am that investment that is being paid off right now. The community has invested the time, effort in putting certain things in place such as churches, and community structures that kept me focus in terms of what my goals are and in achieving them.”

As a young professional, Penn said the challenge he faces is the perception that young people does not have the experience or because of their age they are being overlooked and not given the opportunities to reach their full potential.

“Age should not be a deciding factor in realising one’s potential but rather the potential and talent of that individual,” said Penn as he encourages other young professionals not to be deterred in achieving because of their age or the obstacles that are placed in their way.

Penn who is the son of Ephraim Penn and Magda Varlack-Forde advises young people to set smart goals that are targeted and set within an achievable time frame.

“Set some short goals and work hard, the bottom line is you have to work hard and study. You cannot expect things to be handed to you. One of the pitfalls in society is that we want to get the fruits of the hard work without being focused and working hard,” he noted.

 “The key thing is to stay focus, work hard and keep pushing. You will meet obstacles but don’t let them stop you, just stay focus on what you want to achieve,” this week’s Young Professional advises.