Last Updated on Tuesday, 5 September, 2023 at 2:28 pm by Andre Camilleri
Debono Group announced four new appointments to its Board of Directors and Board Sub-Committees, bringing significant additional experience and expertise to the Group’s leadership, as it actively looks to the future and advancing its 60-year legacy.
The Group has appointed board member Dr. Etienne Borg Cardona as Chairman of the Group, and Prof. Juanito Camilleri as a newly appointed non-executive board member. They join the other members Geoffrey Debono, Michael Debono and Therese Debono on the Board of Directors.
Geoffrey Debono underscored the significance of these crucial appointments as he stated that: “As the third generation of family leaders of the Group, we remain steadfast in our commitment to bring onboard the finest talent to complement the Group’s executive team. The appointments reaffirm the shareholders’ desire to have the right framework to ensure the long-term success of the business, all the while strengthening the Group’s environmental, social and corporate governance.”
Commenting on the team additions, newly appointed Chairman Dr. Etienne Borg Cardona added: “I am delighted to welcome the new appointees to the Board and its Sub-Committees, each of whom brings significant experience and expertise to the leadership team. I look forward to working with them as we execute our long-term strategy.” Dr. Borg Cardona also thanked his predecessor, Tony Mahoney for his sterling contribution and dedication.
In addition to his appointment to the Board of Directors, Prof. Camilleri has also been appointed Chairman of Debono Group’s Investment Committee and Remuneration Committee.
In tandem with Prof. Camilleri’s appointments, the Board committees received an additional boost with Mario Camilleri being appointed Chairman of the Audit Committee and David Vella as consultant to the Board of Directors.
Dr. Etienne Borg Cardona is a certified public accountant by profession and holds a Ph.D. in leadership and management from Cranfield University, UK. With a thirty-year career in leadership positions in the private sector, most recently as CEO of a leading group of companies, Borg Cardona is also a founding partner of Capital Advisory. He currently sits as an independent non-executive director on boards of listed, regulated, and private local and international companies in various industry sectors. Borg Cardona is a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants and of the Malta Institute of Accountants, where he was elected to council between 2012 and 2021. He is currently a council member of the Institute of Financial Services Practitioners (IFSP) and chairs the Directors and CSP Sub-Committee.
Prof. Juanito Camilleri is Rector Emeritus and Resident Professor and Chairman of the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Business Incubation at the University of Malta. Throughout his highly distinguished career, he occupied various senior positions in both public and private organisations, in sectors ranging from higher education and research, telecommunications, information technology, banking, and entrepreneurship. Camilleri also currently serves as independent non-executive director on the Board of APS Bank Malta plc and Chairman of the bank’s Risk Committee. He is a non-executive director at Prohealth Ltd and its subsidiary TrioMed, and serves as a non-executive director on the Board of Malta University Investments Portfolio (MUIP) and is Chair of its two subsidiaries, De Novo Cell Ltd and FLASC B.V.
Mario Camilleri has a banking career spanning 20 years at his back, later serving as CEO of a leading group of companies. Camilleri specialises in the planning and raising of finance to support re-structuring plans and growth strategies, as well as overseeing the implementation of business plans. Throughout the years he has been involved in corporate re-organisations, management buyouts, business mergers, acquisitions and transfers, capital markets listings and the preparation thereof, revision of corporate governance systems, and strategic planning. In 2000-2006, he was a visiting lecturer at the Institute of Financial Services Malta.
David Vella co-founded Altaro Software in 2009 and served as its CEO until his exit in July 2021, at the time of Altaro’s successful acquisition by a German internet security company. During Vella’s helm at Altaro, the international product software company transitioned from a bootstrapped enterprise with four employees to an international company with 120 employees worldwide by 2020. Vella is currently engaged in mentoring and investing in technology-driven startups, C-level advisory, and helping mature organizations with execution, board advisory and going-international efforts and strategies.
