Mr Brown joined GiG in February 2017 as Managing Director for GiG’s media business, after nearly two years, he progressed to Chief Digital Officer and subsequently took the position of Chief Operating Officer, according to a press statement sent to Business Malta.

He took the Acting CEO position on 5 September when the board decided to change the leadership of the company, replacing GiG’s former CEO and Cofounder Robin Eirik Reed.

Upon the announcement, Board Chairman Petter Nylander praised the outgoing CEO for having “played a crucial part in building a unique one-stop global technology provider and we all owe him our sincere gratitude for this.”

GiG says Mr Brown’s appointment comes after a “short, rigorous, evaluation and selection process” and is based on “a strong industry and commercial background”, the press statement says. GiG adds that during his days as Interim CEO, Mr Brown “has shown effective stewardship and gained the full backing and a strong mandate from the board to take the position as the CEO of GiG.”

Prior to joining GiG, Mr Brown worked in various senior and directorial roles in companies such as Highlight Media Group, Web Guide Partner and THG Sports delivering exceptional results in line with strategic goals.

“I am delighted to accept the position of CEO for Gaming Innovation Group, having worked here for the past four years I see massive potential for the company,” said Richard Brown.

“While industry headwinds may have dampened progress in 2019, I am extremely excited about the future potential of the group and this new phase of the company’s life cycle. My focus will be on delivery, execution and optimisation, putting us on a path for great focus and renewed growth,” he added.

“I would like to pass a special thanks to all the people within GiG past and present, who have been supportive of me and I am immensely proud of the work they are doing and the effort all the teams apply to their work. With their help, I am convinced that we will be successful in achieving our goal in providing value to our shareholders,” the new CEO concluded.

“The Board is delighted to appoint Richard Brown as the CEO of GiG. He is the best person to drive the necessary changes and provide leadership as the company now enters the next phase of its development,” said Petter Nylander, GiG’s Chairman of the Board.

“The gambling industry is experiencing a challenging period of structural change. However, it is still backed by fundamental strong underlying growth and we need to plan and position ourselves to be most relevant to our partners and end-users in order to benefit and accelerate our sustainable growth,” Mr Nylander added.

“Richard has a strong track record of operational excellence and will be focusing on making the company more efficient by creating a clear and directional strategy, reducing costs and driving execution. The strategic intent of GiG remains unchanged; to be the global operator and partner for strong brands in iGaming, with a sweet spot in taking an offline casino brand to a strong online offering. I am convinced that Richard will be able to create significant shareholder value by releasing the company’s full potential,” the board chairman concluded.

EDITORIAL NOTE: When Mr Reed’s replacement came to light, Business Malta approached both Mr Reed and Mr Nylander to understand the sudden change in leadership, but this newsroom has not received an answer up until the publication of this article.

The post GiG Interim CEO Richard Brown claims position permanently first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Theodosis Michalopoulos has been named the acting CEO of Microsoft in Greece, Cyprus and Malta, upon the departure of Peggy Antonakou, until a new Chief Executive Officer is appointed, according to a press statement sent to Business Malta. In his new interim role, he will focus on contributing to the transformation and growth of the company’s customers and partners in Greece, Cyprus and Malta.

After leading the branch for seven years, Ms Antonakou will pursue a career outside Microsoft, and her role will temporarily be filled by Mr Michalopoulos, who is a member of the Leadership Team of the company and currently holds the position of Enterprise Commercial and Public Sector Sales Director for Microsoft in Greece, Cyprus and Malta.

Mr Michalopoulos joined the Microsoft in 2014, as of the Director of the Consumer Channels Group. Despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, he contributed to achieving a “highly-prosperous period in the sales sector” for three consecutive years, Microsoft says.

Becoming the Enterprise Commercial Sales Director, he led the transformation of a traditional sales approach into a modern customer-centric model “to significantly empower the digital transformation of Microsoft” in Greece, Cyprus and Malta, the Microsoft press statement adds.

Mr Michalopoulos holds a BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Sussex, an MSc in Communications & Signal Engineering from the Imperial College of Science & Technology of London and an MBA from the Athens Laboratory of Business Administration (ALBA).

The post Microsoft names interim CEO for Greece, Cyprus and Malta first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Mr Caruana will coordinate the formulation of the group’s renewed strategy and outline the technical vision for Harvest and its subsidiaries in light of emerging technologies and best practice, according to the press statement.

In his new role, he has also been tasked with ensuring Harvest and its subsidiaries remain at the forefront of technology and innovation. As Harvest pursues growth, Mr Caruana will examine the potential of Harvest’s acquisition pipeline and conduct technical due diligence of any prospective acquisition.

“I have had the pleasure of working with Godwin for a few years and I have always enjoyed his dry wit and team-building spirit,” Professor Juanito Camilleri, Harvest Chairman, said. “His profound insight and troubleshooting skills on technical matters related to a broad spectrum of ICT disciplines is an invaluable asset to our group. I am delighted he has assumed the role of CEO of Harvest,” he added.

Mr Caruana is a University of Liverpool and the University of Brunel graduate, where he graduated Master of Science in Information Technology, and PhD with a research focus on High-Performance Computing, Algorithms and Machine Learning, respectively.

As a visiting senior lecturer at the University of Malta, Mr Caruana has also been publishing research. In 2018, he spearheaded the establishment of the Harvest Technology Academy in partnership with the University of Malta and the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy in a bid to bridge the gap between the professional and academic spheres.

Earlier in his career, Dr Caruana served as Chief Technology Officer at the Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA) during which time he contributed to numerous high-profile projects.

Harvest delivers tech solutions to customers in banking, aviation, pharmaceuticals, gaming, retail, hospitality and state agencies. Harvest encompasses PTL, APCO Systems, and APCO Ltd. Harvest is part of 1923 Investments plc which has commercial activities in Malta, Poland and Hungary. 1923 Investments plc is the investments arm of Hili Ventures.

The post 1923 Investments’ Harvest names new CEO first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Aspire Global’s revenues increased by 32.1%, from €24.7m to €32.8m in Q2 2019, spurring growth in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) by 7.2%, from €5.7m to €6.1m. The performance of the group was considerably lifted by B2B revenues jumping by 57.5%, from €12.4m to €19.5m, constituting 59.6% of total revenues.

“Our B2B operations have been performing very strongly recently, which is very satisfying because we are bearing the fruits of all the hard work we have done in the last two to three years. Our product development teams have been designing and launching great new features for our partners and we have continued to focus on providing the best CRM [customer relationship management] system in the business so our operators can maximise lifetime values and reduce churn,” Aspire Global CEO Tsachi Maimon tells Business Malta.

Although the CEO could not reveal too much about their plans and expectations for the future — for Aspire being a public company — Mr Maimon believes the trend is clear: “We will strengthen our current portfolio of partners and add new ones to our platform; while enabling them to offer new products and features to their players,” the CEO tells BM.

With such a strong business-to-business (B2B) arm, one would wonder how strong the muscles are on the business-to-customer (B2C) limb. “We believe the way we have managed to combine our B2C work with our B2B activities is one of the reasons we have grown so successfully in recent years. We have a team that is focussed on B2C because like every other strong operator in the market we want Karamba to compete with the biggest names out there,” Mr Maimon breaks it down.

Success around Karamba has enabled Aspire Global to grow and perform well as a company, which the company sees has resulted in a strong showcase for the B2B partners of the firm. “They can see what our platform is capable of and when potential B2B partners come to us, we can show them the quality of our platform and when they sign with us they often finish the conversation by saying they want ‘Karamba-style success’,” according to the CEO.

M&A to fuel further growth

Aspire has recently agreed to acquire 100% of the shares in GMS Entertainment Limited, owner of the B2B group Pariplay, for approximately €13.1m in cash. Pariplay operates a game aggregator platform globally, including their own game studios, providing operators with access to thousands of game titles from leading game producers.

“Our M&A strategy will focus on B2B technology companies that can add volume and can further contribute to Aspire.”

“Pariplay will play a very important and strategic role in Aspire Global’s operations. Strategically, it will enable us to increase our presence across the value chain of the iGaming industry. As for the United States, Pariplay is already licensed to operate in New Jersey. It represents a major advantage over other games aggregators and studios and will act as a spearhead for potential moves Aspire Global might make in the US market in the future,” the CEO says.

When Aspire announced the planned acquisition, the firm tagged it as a “crucial” moment in gaining control of another section in the iGaming value chain. The transaction should be closed during Q3 2019, with a positive effect on the company’s EBITDA as of 2020. For 2019, however, the transaction is not expected to have any material effect on financial results. Nevertheless, Aspire sees the possibility of further mergers and acquisitions activities (M&A).

“Pariplay is the first of a number of acquisitions we have planned as a group. We have been very ambitious and thanks to our successful operations and performance we have cash in the bank that we plan to use. Our M&A strategy will focus on B2B technology companies that can add volume and can further contribute to Aspire. We want to control more steps within the iGaming value chain so that we have more control and can save costs in the process, while also growing revenues through operations outside of our platform,” according to Mr Maimon.

Despite some busy months behind, Aspire Global does not appear to take a rest, in fact, the company is eyeing further expansion. “Our vision is to enable our partners to achieve their full potential. There are many ways of doing this: launching more partners, enabling them to have a larger product offering in store with additional verticals that would allow them to launch into more markets. Our partners are part of our roadmap and future vision and will play a key role in both Aspire Global’s growth and their own,” Mr Maimon concludes.

The post Aspire Global bets on further growth, plans more M&A first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

“Robin has played a crucial part in building a unique one-stop global technology provider and we all owe him our sincere gratitude for this,” says Petter Nylander, Chairman of the Board of GiG. Mr Nylander explains the unexpected board decision by saying that new challenges require new leadership at the group.

“The company now enters into the next phase of its development with different challenges and opportunities and the board has reached the conclusion that GiG therefore also needs a different leadership. We have a skilled management team in place, I and the Board have full confidence in the Chief Operating Officer, Richard Brown who will be Acting CEO of GiG from today,” says Mr Nylander.

Furthermore, Board Chairman Nylander is increasing his engagement with immediate effect to take a more active role in GiG in order to support both the succession process and the management team, strategically as well as operationally, the press statement says.

“The strategy of GiG remains unchanged; to be the global operator and partner for strong brands in iGaming, with a sweetspot in taking an offline casino brand to a strong online offering, as we have with SkyCity and Hard Rock,” Mr Nylander continues.

“We are focusing on securing potential contracts within the B2B Platform services and on servicing our many customers with fully managed and component solutions. We will continue the development of the Media services and the sportsbook, not least to leverage GiG’s opportunities in the US. We will also continue driving the B2C Gaming operators with a focus on growth in new markets,” the board chairman concludes.

EDITORIAL NOTE: Business Malta has reached out to Mr Reed for a comment, to see his point of view. We have also reached out to Mr Nylander to see why Mr Reed is leaving so abruptly with no transitionary period. The present story will be updated as soon as we receive answers from any of the mentioned parties.

The post Board replaces GiG CEO with immediate effect first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Mr Ferrabee is transferring from his previous role of Chief Operating Officer of Payments Canada, an organization responsible for Canada’s payment clearing and settlement infrastructure, processes and rules. In this previous position, Mr Ferrabee had strategic oversight for many critical operational initiatives and industry modernisation activities, the press statement says.

“Payments innovation is driving broad adoption of fintech across the industry, and Paramount Commerce’s 15-year track record of success and reliability positions it to lead this transformational change. I am excited to be coming on board at such a pivotal time,” says Mr Ferrabee.

Answering Business Malta’s enquiry, Mr Ferrabee praised the international firm’s Maltese arm, while taking time to underscore the iGaming sector’s potential. “Paramount’s Malta office is integral to our success, and will continue to be as we grow,” says Mr Ferrabee in a statement sent to BM. “There is an extensive pool of talented people, especially in the online gaming industry, and we have been very fortunate to build a strong and dedicated team in the country,” he adds.

“With Justin’s payments industry expertise and success in driving growth and innovation, he was the clear choice to propel our company into the future,” says Izabela Wakabayashi, representing the Board of Directors. “Now is the right time for a leader like Justin, and we are so pleased to welcome him to our team,” she adds.

Paramount Commerce has been developing electronic payment technology since 2003. Its patented online banking verification technology supports payments in more than 30 countries, has been used by millions of consumers and has processed more than $35b in volume.

Fintech Paramount Commerce is headquartered in Toronto and has operations in Vancouver, Las Vegas, Malta and the United Kingdom.

The post Paramount Commerce names new CEO first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

“At GO, we believe that the only way to future proof Malta and to be able to handle the phenomenal growth in data, is to invest in a state-of-the-art, fibre-to-the-home network. Simply put, a fibre network delivers data to you at the speed of light. There is nothing faster in science today. GO is the only company in Malta that delivers a true fibre network right up to your living room,” said Nikhil Patil, CEO of GO Plc, when announcing the investment.

Currently more than 85,000 homes in Malta are equipped with true-fibre technology. “We are working around the clock to expedite the rollout of true fibre so that every house and business can benefit from the best technology on the market. We expect at least 100,000 homes, the equivalent of approximately 50% of Malta and Gozo, to be covered by the end of 2019, with full nationwide coverage by 2024,” the CEO added.

“Communications services are the backbone of today’s thriving economy. They underpin every sector, every industry,” Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said when the investment was announced. “Our vision can only be attained if all stakeholders pull the same rope and harness every opportunity to push Malta forward. GO has a long-standing history in its contribution to Malta’s economy. Not only has GO taken these opportunities, but it is now creating opportunities for further growth,” the prime minister added

The post GO to invest €100m in Malta’s digital infrastructure first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

MIA’s aviation (+11.1%) and non-aviation (+14.1%) segments both registered growth, with the improvement of the former being largely driven by a 13.2% increase in passenger traffic. In line with the hub’s diversification strategy, the company’s non-aviation activities also delivered positive results, contributing 28.9% to total revenues for the year, said the press statement sent to BM.

“Malta International Airport’s double-digit traffic increase for 2018 outpaced the average growth of its European peer group. However, this result did not come at the expense of service quality. In fact, in 2018 we were awarded the Best Airport in Europe title, in recognition of the great airport experience we provided our guests with,” Nikolaus Gretzmacher, Chairman of Malta International Airport, said in his opening address.

Mr Gretzmacher said that while figures speak for themselves, it must be acknowledged that they are the “result of ongoing work and tireless commitment, as well as close collaborations with key stakeholders, especially government when it comes to traffic development”.

Alan Borg, Chief Executive Officer of Malta International Airport, further elaborated on the companies performance, taking the floor after the chairman. Mr Borg highlighted that Malta International Airport is set to close off 2019 with another traffic milestone of 7.2 million passenger movements and with plans in hand for a number of infrastructural projects.

“The approval of our master plan was a very important development in 2018 and, together with our solid financial position, it will enable us to continue investing in the airport campus in its entirety over the long term, helping us honour our commitment of keeping the momentum of improvement going,” said Mr Borg, while noting that in 2019 alone the company’s investments will total over €20m.

The post Malta airport’s profits rise 25.6% to €30.3m in 2018 first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Mr Altunis will lead a team comprised of senior executives with decades of global financial services experience across banking, asset management and corporate finance. Once licensed, Founders Bank hopes to become a corporate challenger bank servicing the tech industry, including blockchain and other emerging technologies, according to the press statement.

In his last role, Altunis served as Global Co-Head of the Institutional Client Group within Deutsche Bank’s Corporate and Investment Bank, where he was responsible for a multi-billion-dollar revenue operation and a team of over 1,000 people. He helped guide the institution’s investment banking business, dealt directly with institutional investors and regulatory bodies globally, and was a member of its executive committee, reporting directly to the deputy CEO of the bank.

The Founders Bank project is developing an enterprise-focused bank with the aim of redefining banking services. “I am excited about this segue in my career from managing traditional banking to building a world-class corporate challenger bank. We will focus on servicing technology companies who find accessing and using existing financial services difficult and cumbersome. These will include companies in emerging technologies, such as blockchain and crypto,” Mr Altunis said.

Mr Altunis will lead a multi-skilled team of senior executives unique in the industry. The group has decades of global financial services experience across banking, asset management and corporate finance at leading firms such as Deutsche Bank, Barclays, HSBC, Citibank, Bank of America, Royal Bank of Canada, Brevan Howard, KPMG, Mastercard, Amazon, Paypal and Bitpesa, the press statement said.

“As one of the lead investors of the Founders Bank project, we are committed to developing the ecosystem and supporting infrastructure cornerstones to facilitate growth across the broader industry,” said Changpeng Zhao (‘CZ’), CEO of Malta-based digital asset exchange Binance.

The Founders Bank project is currently under a licensing process to obtain an EU banking license from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). It will offer its services throughout Europe and beyond, according to the plans of the venture.

The post Founders Bank project welcomes new CEO first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The board believes that the CEO formally taking an active part in the company’s strategic decisions and sharing responsibility in decisions will reinforce the Angler Gaming’s agility and strategy implementation process while strengthening corporate governance. Such an approach is the prevailing practice in Malta, the company says.

“I am excited to take on this additional responsibility and to continue serving the Company’s interests in this challenging and important dual role,” said Mr Kalita.

The members of the board, including the newly-appointed director, serve until the next Annual General Meeting and intend to stand for re-election.

The post Angler Gaming puts CEO on director board first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.