Teen trailblazer: Tejare makes history as youngest Mr Executive

With poise and remarkable self-assurance, 14-year-old Tejare Forde shattered records and expectations on Sunday night, becoming the youngest-ever winner of the Mr Executive Challenge Inter-School Finals. His commanding performance not only secured the coveted title for Ellerslie School but also set a new benchmark for excellence among Barbados’ aspiring young leaders.

In a dominant performance at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on Sunday night, he outshone four other finalists to capture the 2025 title with an impressive 333 out of a possible 350 points.

The competition, designed as a developmental platform for young men, featured six segments—including two pre-event assessments, A Day at the Office and a Community Project. The finals opened with the competitors delivering a Victory Declaration. In addition, participants demonstrated poise, excellent communication skills, and professionalism under the categories of Job Interview, Date Night, and the CEO Address.

During this address, contestants were required to deliver a motivational speech to their workforce, outlining strategies to improve their company’s image and productivity, and were judged on body language, fluency in standard English, pitch, relevance, and realism. Forde set the bar high, delivering his speech without notes. His self-assured delivery and stage presence earned resounding cheers from the audience.

Despite battling a cold that caused some untimely coughing, Forde remained composed throughout the evening. Undoubtedly, the Job Interview segment further boosted his score, where his insightful responses—particularly a well-researched reference to the pillars of marketing—impressed attendees.

Forde secured the Businessman’s Award with the highest points in the Day at the Office segment and the coveted People’s Choice Award, ensuring Ellerslie retained the crown for a second consecutive year, following in the footsteps of 2024 winner, Shawn Seales.

Crediting those who guided him, he remarked: “I want to shout out to Mr Rollins for actually putting me inside the programme, and it really helped to change my path and the way that I manoeuvre with life and my mindset.” The transformative impact of the programme was evident, as he expressed, “The story I want to share is that at first I was quite a delinquent.”

With the charisma that marked his performance, he joked: “Everyone wanted to know what I would do if I didn’t win, but we will never know!”

Second place went to Niko Jack of the Lester Vaughan School, who exhibited a quiet confidence and delivered consistent performances throughout, finishing with 284 points.

Third place was awarded to Demar Went of Combermere School. Memorable in each segment, Went drew loud applause for serenading his companion during the Date Night segment, though his extra playful tone may have cost him a few points. He finished with 270 points.

Fourth place went to Joshua Peter of the Alexandra School. He brought a different perspective to Date Night, with his mother being his guest in celebration of Mother’s Day. He accumulated 257 points.

In fifth place was Sundreal Halley of the Grantley Adams Memorial School. After making it to the semi-finals in his first attempt, he returned to the competition and advanced to the finals this year, scoring 241 points.

Originally slated to feature five finalists, the decision was made to expand the field to six due to closely contested preliminary scores. Shamario Roach of The St Michael School was unable to continue following a death in the family. His contribution to the competition was acknowledged during the awards ceremony.

Speaking at the close of the event, Kemar Polius, Barbados country head for CIBC Caribbean, platinum sponsor of the programme, commended the initiative. He told Barbados TODAY: “At CIBC Caribbean, we are super proud to be part of Mr Executive. This is a wonderful initiative, particularly with everything that is happening in society, the timing for this could not have been better, and we are proud to associate our brand with this excellent product.”

The evening’s entertainment featured performances by vocalists Tarique Griffith, Jalisa Cheltenham, and steel pannist Dwayne Jones. (STT)