“Adel, Adnan and Sheikh Majid are all experienced members of the Emirates leadership team with strong expertise in their respective areas and proven leadership abilities. Each brings deep and diverse experiences from different areas of the airline business, and I am confident that they will continue to drive the airline’s future growth and strengthen Emirates’ presence, agility, and focus across the globe,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group.

As Chief Operating Officer (COO), Adel Al Redha is at the helm of all operational departments: Flight Operations, Service Delivery, Airport Services, Emirates Engineering, Crew manpower, aircraft procurement and the Emirates Flight Training Academy; as well as worldwide network operations including crisis response. Mr Al Redha will oversee operational efficiency and effectiveness across the airline, and will work closely with other members of the executive leadership team to drive improved performance across the business.

During his 31-year career with Emirates, Al Redha is believed to have been instrumental in leading and implementing Emirates’ global strategy to consistently deliver superior services and customer experiences, on the ground and in the air. He has worked on enhancing operational processes, capabilities and efficiencies within the airline; including the introduction of smart initiatives using advanced technology and artificial intelligence.

He has also led the introduction of various National Development programmes that provide career development for UAE national youth and continues to drive improvements in the working environment for all staff while keeping safety and standards at the core of all operations, the press statement says.

In his role as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), Adnan Kazim is responsible for worldwide Commercial Operations, Ecommerce, the Emirates Skywards loyalty programme and Emirates SkyCargo. He is expected to continue to lead the airline’s strategic planning and revenue optimisation teams, which are Emirates tags as “critical functions” that support the airline’s commercial success.

Mr Kazim joined Emirates in 1992 as a Management Trainee and has led the airline’s commercial operations in major markets such as the UAE, Switzerland, Pakistan and East Africa. He then transitioned into leadership roles in route and fleet planning, and governmental relations. He most recently held the role of Divisional Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning, Revenue Optimisation and Aeropolitical Affairs.

Sheikh Majid Al Mualla — who previously held the position of Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations-Centre — has been appointed Divisional Senior Vice President, International Affairs.

In his new role, he will drive the airline’s government, industry, public policy, regulatory, environment and international affairs agenda. He will also lead teams that represent Emirates in government negotiations and air services talks, as well as various aviation industry bodies of which Emirates is a member.

“These roles are strategically important to growing our customer base and developing our commercial strategies, delivering the best experiences across customer touchpoints, and progressing our business objectives through engaging with governments, regulators and key industry bodies around the world,” Emirates Airlines chief Saeed Al Maktoum added.

The post Emirates names new executive leaders first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Mr Attard is a Bachelor of Commerce Honours graduate and has completed post-graduate studies in business administration at Edinburgh Business School and Heriot-Watt University. He has several years of experience within the banking, financial institutions, and securities sectors with exposure to both the private and public sector.

Mr Attard forms part of the Authorisations Unit of the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) where he leads a multidisciplinary team responsible for the licensing and maintenance of credit and financial institutions.

As the complexity of the financial services sector grows accompanied by tight regulatory regimes, ARQ believes that firms are looking for advisors with multijurisdictional approaches, regulatory knowledge and the ability to provide technology solutions that support compliance and regulatory requirements.

Having partnered with Fenech Farrugia Fiott Legal (FFF) in the long term, ARQ group says they could “go beyond a purely advisory role and to accept office – or assist clients with the recruitment of professionals to accept office – for directorship, secretarial and compliance posts with licensed entities, as required.”

ARQ says it is committed to delivering “bespoke solutions” for supporting clients drive growth and success. As a joint venture between mid-tier audit firm Capstone Group and law firm FFF Legal, ARQ has developed into a “collaborative platform where professionals from different disciplines come together to provide holistic and comprehensive solutions for our clients,” the about section of the company’s website says.

The post ARQ names new senior manager first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Mr Chao joins Binance to oversee its global strategy, ranging from the company’s venture capital (VC) arm, Binance Labs, to its strategic fiat-to-crypto gateways, including the creation of new partnerships and banking relationships.

“We are thrilled to welcome Gin as our latest leadership hire to strengthen our business ventures and strategy across our global ecosystem,” said CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao (CZ). “He will play a key role in driving our strategic business goals that span across the globe, and we are confident that he will help realize new avenues of opportunities alongside the core executive team.”

Mr Chao brings an extensive background of developing and managing strategic investment opportunities as well as overseeing cross-regional business growth opportunities in Asia and the US.

As former Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at the National Basketball Association (NBA), Chao led new asset and investment opportunities, including scalable business models, and will leverage his previous experience for Binance.

“I am honoured to be joining CZ and the team during this incredibly exciting time for the industry,” said Gin Chao, Strategy Officer at Binance. “I’ve followed the growth of the senior executives at Binance over the years and it’s a testament to CZ’s vision and leadership to have formed such a talented and accomplished group. I’m looking forward to working with the team on building and providing sustainable blockchain-based services that accelerate cryptocurrency adoption and support our overall mission.”

The post Binance names new strategy officer first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

“Fintech is truly revolutionising the way we deal with money and do business. Continuing to use its considerable resources, deVere has proven to be one of the global leaders in this exciting and burgeoning sector — and it is a pleasure to be joining their teams across the world as we move ahead into the next chapter in the success story,” Mr Litsikakis commented.

The initial primary focus of Mr Litsikakis, who starts with immediate effect and who will report directly to CEO Nigel Green and COO Beverley Yeomans, will be deVere Vault; the firm’s global multicurrency e-money app. Users of deVere E-Money’s app and its Prepaid Mastercard can spend, receive, store and transfer money in up to 27 different currencies.

“We are delighted to welcome someone of Dimitris’ calibre, expertise and experience to the company to help us develop our financial technology propositions even further,” says CEO Nigel Green. “Fintech is a major growth area of our business model — we understand and value that there is a growing need and want for it in an increasingly globalised and digitalised world. “Dimitris will help us dominate the market moving forward.”

“I am looking forward to expediting current enhancements and developments to the product in order to further enhance the client experience. In addition to this, one of my first tasks will be looking at B2B opportunities and looking at other ways to differentiate this already much in-demand e-money app,” added Mr Litsikakis.

The post New fintech head comes to deVere Group from Revolut first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

“As a Service Desk Technical Officer, I was tasked with tending to daily support tickets created by users,” Mr Zammit said. “As a Systems Engineer, I work with maintaining and improving the existing IT-infrastructure and I’m also involved in IT related projects,” he added.

Although Mr Zammit knew that this move would represent a significant challenge, according to the press release, the extra push by his colleagues helped him to grow and adapt to his new position.

It was of fundamental importance also the relationship between Mr Zammit and his manager, which made this shift of roles easier and less stressful, he admits. “I have a great relationship with my manager, we give each other feedback on a weekly basis, which helps in improve and learn from previous experiences,” he commented.

Mr Zammit underlined how worth was this change for him and for his career. In addition, he said that Betsson is the perfect place to find room grow and develop, as it happened to him, as the press release says.

The post Betsson Group names new systems engineer 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.

Mr Cordina started his banking career with Mid-Med Bank Limited in 1981 and joined HSBC in 1999. During his time with HSBC, he has occupied various executive roles such as Deputy Head of Operations and Head of Business Transformation. He was also responsible for bringing the HSBC UK Contact Centre to Malta. In 2010, Mr Cordina was seconded to HSBC Commercial Banking in London where he held the role of Head of Sales Performance.

“I am honoured and privileged to be appointed as a director on the bank’s board and very excited to take on this new executive role in my more than 37-year-long association with the bank. I am fortunate to be part of the HSBC Group and I look forward to strengthening our business in Malta and connecting our customers to opportunities, enabling them to thrive and supporting the Maltese economy to prosper”, comments Mr Cordina.

In his new role, Mr Cordina will focus on developing the bank’s business with primary clients and external stakeholders, paying special attention to a balanced return to growth, the press release sent to BM says.

“Michel is a seasoned banker and has a wealth of experience and we look forward to seeing Michel’s remarkable energy driving growth from our core business and from HSBC’s signature strength as the world’s leading international bank”, comments Andrew Beane, HSBC Malta’s CEO.

The post HSBC Malta names new executive director first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Oleg Savschouk joined Goodgame Studios over seven years ago as Product Director and is — in his current role as VP Live Operations — responsible for the product development of games “Big Farm” and “Goodgame Empire”, the latter having more than 175 million users to date.

Phillip Knust joined Goodgame Studios over eight years ago as Product Manager and has since then led several production teams, releasing numerous products, the most popular being “Goodgame Empire”. Mr Knust is the creator of the game design of both “Goodgame Empire” and “Big Farm”.

In their new roles, Mr Savschouk and Mr Knust will continue to focus on long-lifecycle product development and contribute to long-term shareholder value, the press statement says.

“It is a privilege to lead this fundamentally strong company with iconic products and talent. Phillip and I will be working very hard in the coming years to further expand our brands. We will move with urgency and intense commitment to continue to drive revenue and profits for Goodgame and the Stillfront Group. I see an exciting future for Goodgame with profitable growth and more great products to come. I am eager to get going.” says Mr Savschouk, designated CEO of Goodgame Studios.

“I am very happy to see Goodgame Studios in such a strong position. The company is showing high profitability, popular brands, a great product pipeline and continues to be led by a highly skilled management team. Oleg and Phillip are experienced gaming industry experts with a strong  focus on building and managing long-lifecycle products. I look forward to working with Oleg and Phillip in their new roles”, adds Mr Larsson, CEO of Stillfront Group.

Stillfront is a group of independent creators, publishers and distributors of digital games. Stillfront operates through 11 near-autonomous subsidiaries: Coldwood Interactive in Sweden, Power Challenge in the UK and Sweden, Dorado Online Games in Malta, Simutronics in the United States, Babil Games in UAE and Jordan, eRepublik in Ireland and Romania, OFM Studios, Bytro Labs, Goodgame Studios and Playa Games in Germany, Imperia Online, Bulgaria.

The post Stillfront Group appoints new Goodgame Studios CEO, CPO first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

“I’m very proud of these new appointments. This is a great achievement for both our people and our firm. I believe Mark and David will contribute to the success of PwC Malta and provide high-quality services to our clients and markets. They set our firm’s purpose in motion: to build trust in society and solve important problems,” says David Valenzia, Territory Senior Partner at PwC Malta.

Mark Lautier joined PwC Malta in 2005 after graduating as Doctor of Laws from the University of Malta. He subsequently completed the diploma in taxation offered by the Malta Institute of Taxation and a Masters in Taxation from the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (University of London).

Mr Lautirer advises a wide range of local corporate and international clients on various tax and legal matters. He also lectures at the University of Malta and the Malta Institute of Taxation. “Over the years, Mr Lautirer has acquired strong experience in direct and indirect taxation and also specialised in corporate, financial services and shipping matters,” PwC says.

David Leone Ganado joined PwC Malta’s assurance service line as an ACCA student in 2000. He gained practice experience across a wide range of industry sectors including periods of secondment to PwC Boston and PwC London. Since 2008, he has managed the firm’s Accounting Advisory Services offering in which he provides accounting advice and support within the contexts of IFRS and GAPSME, the local GAAP accounting framework.

Mr Ganado has acquired experience in the implementation of IFRS requirements as well as advice in IFRS financial statement disclosures. He also delivers client and in-house training in financial accounting. Additionally, he supports the Malta Institute of Accountants through membership in the Local Regulatory Committee, has been a member of the GAPSME technical working groups set up by the Institute and has lectured financial accounting to ACCA students.

The post PwC Malta welcomes new partner and director first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Mr Mitra originally joined AKJ Crypto in 2018 as its Chief Administrative Officer, transferring from Argon Group, an investment bank focused on cryptocurrency and the token-based capital markets.

Mr Mitra has a career of more than two decades in global financial services and fintech. During these years he worked as a corporate advisor, venture capital and private equity investor, management consultant and entrepreneur. He has an MBA from Stanford, and Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees from MIT.

“I am excited by the opportunity to join a firm that has had long-standing success in the traditional financial services space, while also displaying incredible innovation and thought leadership in the evolution of the digital markets,” Mr Mitra said. “As the cryptocurrency and token-driven markets normalise, my priorities will focus around bringing to our stakeholders the true potential of this generational opportunity,” the new CEO added.

“We are delighted to have Neal strengthen and lead the AKJ Crypto team,” Mr Jensen said in welcoming the new CEO. “His experience and know-how will ensure that fund managers on our platform enjoy institutional quality servicing and access to crypto markets, and that AKJ token holders gain risk-mitigated, highly diversified access to the rapidly ascending cryptoeconomy,” the founder and now chairman added.

AKJ Crypto Plc, a subsidiary of AK Jensen Group, says to provide a full-service platform for crypto hedge fund managers and diversified participation for institutional investors — through the AKJ Token — in the cryptoeconomy. AK Jensen Group Limited and its subsidiaries, established in 1995, is owned by shareholders, who, combined, have more than US$18bn in assets under management. The group serves hedge fund and institutional clients in 35 countries around the world.

The post AKJ Crypto names new CEO first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.