Uni student Ruthleey already a company CEO

By ANTOINETTE POIVI
AT 22, and still attending university, Ruthleey Kile is already the chief executive of a company.
Well, in fact, a family company, which his dad Joe has entrusted to her to head.
And she, a final year Information and Communication Science student at the University of PNG, gladly accepted the huge responsibility as a challenge.
“I took up the position as a challenge. My father had no knowledge of information communication science but had been managing the company for 21 years. To me that’s a dream fulfilled.”
Her dad of course will continue to mentor her in the role of chief executive officer of Skyco Systems PNG Ltd, owned by the family from Sinesine-Yongomugl district in Chimbu.
Ruthleey was born to parents Joe Kile, a pastor of the Four Square Church, and mum Gethruth Benson Kile, an administration officer with the Agriculture and Livestock department. They have seven children including Ruthleey.
She was only two when her father started the technology company in 2002 under the name Hausman TV, then Hausman Consultant.
She remembers when it started.
“My father would make several trips (from Chimbu) to Port Moresby and Mum would persuade him to take me with him.”
It is jointly run by partners in Israel and the United States (US) with the latest technology on election systems using biometric voter registration, landowner registration and geo-fencing surveillance. The main focus is to use the biometric system for voting.
The partners help build software based on what Ruthleey and her team design. The objective is to assist the Government during elections, to reduce the long queues of voters waiting to cast their ballots at the polling stations.
“We want to make a difference and help our country.”
CEO Ruthleey is leading the company’s negotiations with the Government to design software to improve the conduct of ward elections next year, then the General Election 2027.
Apart from improving the voting systems, Ruthleey’s business partners are also working on a card called Digital Knowledge in Biometry (DKB) which incorporates one’s bank cards into one card.
“But right now our focus is on the elections.”
Some of the programmes Ruthleey designed include the all-in-one-pack biometric solution, door-to-door mobile biometrics, smart-pen solution, mobile biometric registration and mobile verification. She designed the programmes for the next general election.
As a young CEO, Ruthleey wants to understand first what her clients require, then finding the appropriate services using her technical skills and knowledge, applying them in real-life situations. She relies on the assistance of her business partners abroad and, of course, her dad by her side all the time.
“My greatest challenge would be to compete with other technology companies.
The company and I will continue doing our best in finding the right solutions that are customer-based and balanced, exploring the market needs, and ensuring satisfaction between the technology and the user, who matters the most.”
She knows that the key to her success in a competitive ICT industry and business community lies in her commitment to her role.
CEO Ruthleey is confident that she can do it.
“(In fact), my advice to all young women to stay focused on their education and not see schooling as a holiday camp.
If (we) aspire to be great leaders in male-dominated fields, (we must) stay committed always.”