Mr Nick Xuereb

CFO at Toly Group and Vice President at the Malta Chamber

Nick Xuereb, an accountant by profession, started his career with Price Waterhouse in 1988, working mainly in audit assurance until 1999. Nick subsequently moved into industry and joined Dowty (Trelleborg), leading the finance function of one of Malta’s largest and oldest foreign manufacturing companies in Malta, serving Trelleborg over a 12 year period. Concurrently, Nick chaired the Lotteries & Gaming Authority (now MGA) from 2008 to 2013, leading a team that over a 5 year period doubled the size of the industry, by ensuring that Malta retained its high quality standard as a reputable jurisdiction. In October 2011, Nick joined Air Malta as CFO with a team that undertook significant changes to the airline in a major restructuring exercise reducing significantly the losses of an airline that was on the brink of bankruptcy.

In June 2014, Nick took over as Group CFO of Toly, one of the very few truly international Groups based in Malta, with presence in Europe, Asia and North America, leading the financial and ICT function of the Group here in Malta. Nick forms part of the exec team that has successfully spearheaded Toly to be a €100 million business in 2018 and continues to be responsible for the financial and IT functions of the entire group.

Since 2015, Nick has been elected as a council member of the Malta Chamber and has continued to serve on council since then. In April 2021, Nick was elected as vice president of the Malta Chamber.

Mr Anthony Diacono

Medserv Executive Chairman

Anthony S. Diacono has been a director of Medserv p.l.c., today MedservRegis plc, since inception in 2001 and of Medserv Operations Ltd. since 1997. Mr. Diacono has over 40 years of experience in senior management and is a recognized expert in the areas of strategic planning for competitive advantage and enterprise restructuring.

He has held several posts as Chairman, C.E.O. or director in both the private sector and public sector including key positions in almost every organisation involved in the economic development of the Maltese Islands. He was President of the Malta Federation of Industry between 1992 and 1993, Chairman of Malta External Trade Corporation between 1999 and 2004, Chairman of the Malta Development Corporation between 1994 and 1997, today known as Malta Enterprise.

Mr. Diacono is also active with the Constituted Business Organisation in Malta. Between 2010 and 2022, he sat on the board of directors of CommBank Europe Limited where he was appointed Chairman in July 2012.

Mr Ronald Mizzi

Member of the MIA Financial Reporting Committee and MIA Financial Services Committee, and Group CFO at APS Bank plc

Mr Winston Zahra

Founder & CEO TROO Hospitality and previous Co-owner and CEO of Island Hotels Group plc in Malta

Winston has over 30 years of experience in the Hospitality industry both as an investor and an operator.

He read for a degree in Hotel and Catering Management at Portsmouth University in the U.K. between 1987 and 1991. Following that he returned to Malta and was extensively involved in the growth and development of Island Hotels Group Holdings plc including the opening of four hotels, the development of Malta's leading event catering company, and the launch of the Costa Coffee brand.

Winston headed up the effort of Island Hotels Group to become a public company in 2009 and in 2015 concluded the sale of the Group to IHI plc. He remained involved in an executive role within IHI plc until December 2017 to oversee the transition of the transaction.

Winston then joined GG Hospitality in the UK as CEO in 2018 a role which he holds until today. Additionally Winston founded TROO Hospitality in February 2022 and through this company today oversees the operation of 8 hotels across the UK.

Ms Sharon Ditchburn

Certified Practicing Accountant, Lawyer and Managing Director at Capital Advantage, Dubai

Sharon Ditchburn is a Fellow of CPA Australia, Governance Institute of Australia, and the Chartered Governance Institute (UK and Ireland), with a Degree in Law and MBA specializing in Corporate Governance. She is a Committee member of the Centre of Excellence for ESG for CPA Australia and IFAC’s PAIBAG.

Mr Steve Ellul

Financial Analyst

Mr Karl Bartolo

Member of the MIA PAIB Group and Medserv Group Deputy CEO (Business)

Karl Bartolo is a dynamic leader with experience in designing and implementing strategic change and a proven ability to make viable contributions at senior management and board level. This highly developed strategic acumen is underpinned by extensive analytical skills, financial know-how, and a continuous drive towards business process improvement. Track record of delivering cost control and revenue growth. Karl is a Certified Public Accountant by profession, who graduated from the University of Malta in 2001 with a Bachelor of Accountancy (Hons.)

Mr Luke Coppini

Property CEO at Michael Debono Group

Luke leads the real estate arm of the Michael Debono Group, both investment properties and ambitious developments that the Group has embarked on. He has worked as CEO of Midi plc spearheading the major development project at Tigne Point and Manoel Island. His career saw him holding various financial roles in industry, including that of Group CFO at Von der Heyden Group, an international group involved in hospitality and Real Estate across Europe and Chief Accountant at Mizzi Organisation, one of the largest and most diversified Groups in Malta.

Mr Etienne Sciberras

CEO MAPFRE MSV Life

Chief Executive Officer of MAPFRE MSV Life p.l.c., the leading provider of life insurance protection, long term savings, investments and retirement planning in Malta. MAPFRE MSV Life p.l.c. is a member of the MAPFRE Group, the leading insurance group in Spain.

Etienne Sciberras took the helm of the company in April 2021, during highly challenging times. As the CEO of MAPFRE MSV life, he is responsible for running all facets of the business. An Accountant by profession, with over 20 years’ experience in the industry. Etienne had joined the company in 2001 as a trainee executive and moved up the ranks. In 2012, Etienne left his Senior Manager role within the Investment Department to set up the Risk Management Function. In 2015 he was appointed Chief Risk Officer with responsibility for the risk function across the local MAPFRE Life and Non-Life operations.

Etienne Sciberras is a Certified Public Accountant, holder of the CFA designation and an Honours Degree in Commerce with a major in Management.

Ms Charmaine Baldacchino

MIA Council Member and Chief Financial Officer at the Malta Stock Exchange

I joined KPMG whilst in my final year of the BA course. Whilst at KPMG I worked mainly within the financial services sector audit team, specialising in banking and investment services. I was also seconded to KPMG London, Dublin and Reykjavik as part of the international secondments programme.

Left KPMG as Director and in 2013 I joined MFSA within the Authorisation Unit, focusing mainly on the securities and markets field, to increase my regulatory knowledge in my areas of expertise.

In 2016 I moved to Alter Domus Malta as Senior Manager to manage a portfolio of Funds clients and Corporate clients and in 2018 I joined Malta Stock Exchange plc as CFO. At the MSE I also head Prospects Office, which processes applications for instruments to be admitted to the Prospects MTF, and I sit on both the Audit Committee and the Risk Management Committee.

Mr Kenneth Brincat

Malta Digital Innovation Authority CEO

Mr Kenneth Brincat has been appointed MDIA’s CEO in 2021. Enhancing the successes achieved during the initial years of the MDIA, Mr Brincat is bridging the way forward for the Authority and Malta in terms of technology assurances. He holds a Master of Science Degree in HR and Training and currently reading for a Doctorate in Business Administration

Prof. Alexiei Dingli

Professor of AI, University of Malta

Prof Alexiei Dingli is a Professor of AI at the University of Malta. He has been conducting research and working in the field of AI for more than two decades, assisting different companies to implement AI solutions. His work has been rated World Class by international experts and he won several local and international awards (such as those by the European Space Agency, the World Intellectual Property Organization and the United Nations to name a few). He has published several peer-reviewed publications and formed part of the Malta.AI task force which was set up by the Maltese government, aimed at making Malta one of the top AI countries in the world.

Mr Andrew Schembri

Member of the MIA Digital Committee and Senior Manager at PWC

Andrew Schembri is a Senior Manager at PwC Malta primarily focused on Technology Governance, Risk and Compliance. His role includes helping organisations devising strategies to transform and improve their approach to managing risks to drive business performance, maximize efficiencies and improve stakeholder confidence. Throughout his time at PwC, he also spent 2.5 years working with PwC US based in the San Francisco Bay Area where he was helping global leaders with various aspects of Technology GRC.

Gege Gatt

CEO of London-based company EBO.AI, digital entrepreneur and IT-Law specialist

Dr. Gege Gatt is the CEO of London-based company EBO.AI, an Artificial Intelligence enterprise which enables the automation and personalisation of engagement. He is a digital entrepreneur and IT-Law specialist. He serves as an Executive Board Member of the Malta IT law Association and is a specialist examiner at the University of Malta. He’s a Board Member of Humanity 2.0 developed by the Holy See in Rome with a consortium of thought-leaders to identify and remove impediments to human flourishing

Mr Gordon Micallef

Chairperson of the MIA Digital Committee and Partner RSM Malta

Gordon Micallef is a Partner responsible for Business and Technology Consulting services. He has over seventeen years experience in delivering IT assurance and technology consulting services. He directs a multi-discipline team delivering process improvement, risk management, and project management services across various industries and has extensive experience in helping organisations bridge the gap between business and IT, manage the change, and deliver digital transformation.

He was one of the founders of the ISACA Malta Chapter and served as President of the Chapter between 2007 and 2009. He also served on several committees and task forces for ISACA International including global chapter oversight, leadership conferences, and EuroCacs.

Gordon is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified in Enterprise Governance of IT (CGEIT), and Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC), and Prince2 Practitioner.

Mr Anthony David Gatt

Chief Marketing Officer at Malta Enterprise

Ms Stephanie Galea

Head of Business Development & Marketing at the Malta Stock Exchange

Stephanie has been employed with the Malta Stock Exchange for over 30 years. Prior to her role as Head of Business Development and Marketing, she was Head of Compliance and Market Operations. Throughout her career, Stephanie was also involved in a number of important projects at the Exchange.

Mr Mario Gauci

Head of Commercial at APS Bank plc

He joined APS Bank plc in 2014 after 32 years working at HSBC Bank Malta plc (previously Mid-Med Bank plc) where he held successively Senior positions in Credit Risk and Commercial Banking as Deputy Head of Credit, Area Commercial Manager and Deputy Head of Corporate Banking.

For 25 years he was also involved in Local Government having served as Mayor for the locality of Hal Gharghur (1994 – 2014), Deputy Mayor (2014 – 2019), Member of the AKLM, and Member of the Congress of Regions and Local Authorities of the Council of Europe (2013 – 2019).

Mario is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers.

Mr Mark Scicluna Bartoli

Executive - Product Management & Development, Business Banking at Bank of Valletta

As Executive Product Management & Development at Bank of Valletta Mark Scicluna Bartoli is tasked with improving access to finance for enterprises. Over the past ten years Mark has tapped into both EU and National guarantee funds mobilising over €500 million in funding for Maltese enterprises.

Ms Joyce Grech

Head of Commercial Banking at HSBC Bank Malta

Joyce Grech has had a broad 25 year career with HSBC and is currently the Head of Commercial Banking. Before taking up this role, she was the bank’s Chief Risk Officer for over six years. She is an avid supporter of diversity and inclusion and chairs the Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Ms Doreanne Caruana

Head of Corporate Advisory at Rizzo, Farrugia & Co. (Stockbrokers) Ltd

Doreanne heads the Corporate Advisory Unit within Rizzo Farrugia & Co (Stockbrokers) Limited. She is involved in taking to market multi-million capital market transactions, including equity offers and bond issues. Before joining Rizzo Farrugia in 2014, Doreanne worked in the banking sector, gaining exposure to a number of areas, including international payments and risk management.

She has a Bachelor degree in Banking, Masters in Management and has attained accreditation from ACCA. She is also currently reading for a law degree in financial services.

Mr Josef Busuttil

Director General of the Malta Association of Credit Management

Josef was involved in the setting up of the Malta Association of Credit Management (MACM – www.macm.org.mt) and has been administering the Association since its establishment in June 2001. MACM provides a central national organisation for the promotion and protection of all credit interests pertaining to Maltese businesses. He was later appointed Director General of MACM.

Josef has been a member of the Council of FECMA - Federation of European Credit Management Associations (www.fecma.eu), representing the Maltese trade creditors in this European forum, since MACM joined FECMA in May 2003. He is an active council member and after twelve years occupying the role of FECMA Vice President, Josef was elected President of FECMA in 2016 and reconfirmed President in 2018.