New senior management appointments at APS Bank

APS Bank announces the following senior management appointments as recently approved by the Board of Directors.

Edward J Calleja, will take up the position of Chief Operating Officer as from 1 August 2021, subject to regulatory approval being forthcoming. Edward started his career at Mid-Med Bank in 1981 and joined APS Bank in 1992. He was responsible for the setting up of the Bank’s lending function. He was Head of Advances and, since 2016, Head of Risk. Edward holds a B.A. (Hons) Accountancy from the University of Malta (1990), a Diploma in Management (2003) and an MBA from Henley Management College, UK (2005). He obtained his warrant as CPA in 1991 and became a fellow of the Malta Institute of Accountants in 2011. 

Liana DeBattista will take up the position of Chief Strategy Officer as from 1 October 2021, subject to regulatory approval being forthcoming. Regulatory approval is in the process of being obtained. Liana joined APS Bank in 2003 and worked in a number of areas, including strategy, internal audit and marketing. Since 2020 she has held the position of Head of Strategy & Propositions. Liana has a B.Sc. in Business & Computing (2001) and a B.Com (Hons) in Management (2002), both from the University of Malta, and a First Class M.Sc. in Corporate Finance from the University of Liverpool (2015). 

Rachael Blackburn has been appointed to the new position of Head of Culture with effect from 1 July 2021. Rachael has a career spanning over 20 years, with management experience in both the public and private sectors. Amongst other positions, she was a Management Trainer in the United Arab Emirates (2002-2006), a Senior Executive at the Malta Council for Science and Technology (2009-2016), Director at Esplora (2016-2019) before joining APS Bank as Change Management Specialist. Rachael graduated B.Ed. (Hons) from the University of Malta (2001) and M.A. in Creativity & Innovation (2009), specialising in organisational innovation management.

Marco Micallef will be appointed as Head of Credit Risk as from 1 August 2021. He started his career at Mid-Med Bank in 1992 gaining retail network and credit experience. Marco joined APS Bank in 2000 and worked mainly in credit, both in the network and the commercial business unit. In 2011, he was appointed Credit Risk Manager, a post he occupies to date. Marco graduated B.Sc (Hons) Financial Services and ACIB, jointly awarded by the University of Manchester and the Institute of Financial Services, in 2004. In 2020 he obtained the International Certificate in Financial Services Risk Management from the Institute of Risk Management.

Zoltan Horvath will be appointed as Head of Propositions as from 1 October 2021. He started his career in banking and consumer finance at KBC Group before moving to Budapest Bank-GE Capital (2005-2011) and then to Oney (2012) in France. He joined Banco Santander UK in 2014 and moved to APS Bank in 2020 as Senior Proposition Officer, bringing a wealth of international experience to his role. Zoltan graduated M.Sc in Economics from Corvinus University of Budapest in 2004.

Marcel Cassar, APS Bank CEO commented: “We are proud to announce our most recent appointments, who bring a wealth of knowledge and long experience to their respective areas. Not only are we strengthening and ensuring succession in our Management team but also showing that the Bank is modern and forward-looking. And the appointment of a Head of Culture, embracing the Marketing function and a first in Malta, evinces our belief in a common message that resonates both within and outside the organisation. We wish all new appointees the very best.”