By always being attentive to the technological needs of his country, the president of Sondesistem, Héctor Quijada, managed to transform his company to become an important player in the Venezuelan AV industry, always hand in hand with his family.
Richard Santa
When he was finishing his university study at the School of Statistics, Héctor Quijada began to take courses on a subject that had interested him since childhood but of which at that time there were few academic options: computing.
Thus he became one of the pioneers in Venezuela of the profession in the area of computer analysis and programming. Combining his two professions, he linked himself in the early years of his professional life to the Income Tax Computing Center.
"I retired seven years later with the position of systematizer III, then I went to Burrouhgs where I stayed until 1978. I worked as a systems manager, there my colleagues and I completed teleprocessing and database studies in Venezuela, Brazil and the United States," he said.
With the experience accumulated in these two companies, in which he participated in the installation of more than ten computer systems, most of his work being in conjunction with the State, in 1978 he decided to retire to create the company Sondesistem.
Creating a company
The idea of creating his own company arose after the decision of the IBM company to discontinue one of its products, the Survey Analizer program, due to the disappearance of the punched card. At that time he thought of developing a system to replace it, taking advantage of his statistical and computer knowledge.
"The name Sondesistem comes from surveys and systems, because initially we are dedicated to the process of preparing and executing surveys. Regretting it very much, the business was not very successful but we continued with the development of systems."
The company's change of focus to reach the audiovisual industry occurred a decade later, when by acquiring a panel to help in the presentations to the clients of the software they offered, they found a business opportunity.
"Customers bought the panel from us, but the software rarely acquired it. Later came the color panels the Versacolor of Proxima and later the Ovation of this same brand. When this company launched its first projector we became its distributors," he said.
So they began to be certified in other companies in the AV industry such as Crestron, Kramer, Extron, because they found that the market needed other integration and automation solutions. Today the applications of computer systems are almost a memory.
A long day
Due to the heavy vehicular traffic of Caracas, city in which our Professional of the month guest for this edition resides, his residence and his office are located very close to each other and so you can start the daily tasks at eight in the morning, as a custom already rooted.
"At my age it is difficult to get to the office late, that is why I live nearby, so that my life and my business can get along, which is the success of any entrepreneur. That closeness gives me time to even go home for lunch at noon and come back, to work until about seven in the afternoon," he said.
One of the areas of the company to which Héctor Quijada is of special interest is sales. Therefore, in his daily work he executes purchases, attends to sellers who always have prospects with very varied needs, making his routine directed to research on products, solutions and their prices.
In this way, Sondesistem has managed to compete and stand out in the audiovisual industry, achieving that the costs for the end users decreased in the market and that for many of the Venezuelan companies that were in the business the revenues were hindered.
"We are characterized by being a company that has efficiency as its value, as if it were a systematization, seeking to optimize the resources offered to the client at fair prices. The truth is that price should never be a differentiating idea for a product or service, that would be a sure failure. I think we came to compete and help in the massification of this technology in the country and today we maintain a loyal and demanding clientele."
On the state of the industry in his country, he affirms that it is difficult to make any projection to the future due to the political issue and its involvement in the economic, especially for the exchange control, to which he must dedicate a lot of time of the routine to be able to solve and maintain the business with all the obstacles that appear daily.
Hobby par excellence
As he himself assures, technology is his hobby par excellence, a passion that he has maintained throughout his life and that he shares with his wife, Leonor Ferrero, a computer engineer and who is also a partner and technical and administrative support of the company.
Another of his passions is sports. He says that at 70 years old he does not practice so much, but every time he has the opportunity he will see them live, especially baseball, a sport that does not miss the Venezuelan season following his team Leones de Caracas. But in the case of football things are different, because due to the aggressive football fans, they prefer to follow the Vinotinto team on television.
"Although the range of sports I like is very wide, the only one I find to practice at this age is cycling, which I do every Sunday. Also two or three days a week I climb Cerro Ávila, the iconic mountain of Caracas, since our home is very close, when I do not slack of course," he said.
He adds that the greatest passion he shares as a family is traveling, a pleasure that they do not exchange for anyone. So far, the favorite places they have toured are Greece, Egypt and Israel, due to the history and novelty they offered.
"In December last year we toured to the ancient temples of Cambodia and it has been an unforgettable experience. Traveling helps us to be more flexible and changes our way of seeing things, shows us several options and helps us in our life in general, which is reflected in our company."
**Forming the personality
Our Professional of the Month was born in Mene Grande, an oil field in Zulia State, Venezuela. And although his childhood passed happily between games, friends and studies, he was under the shadow of the persecutions that the dictatorial regime of General Pérez Jiménez carried out on his father and some members of his family, who were openly opposed.
"This situation ended up shaping my personality and democratic principles. In my adolescence we moved to Caracas, before the fall of the dictatorship, I completed high school and entered the Central University of Venezuela, first to study mechanical engineering, which I abandoned and enrolled in the School of Statistics from which I obtain the degree. "
Leonor and Héctor make up a home with their two daughters: Andreína, a graduate in psychology who works in the family business developing new projects. Her youngest daughter, Estefanía, is studying art at the Central University of Venezuela and currently took a break to train at an acting conservatory in New York.
