Legitimate Business Is About Hard Work, Smart Ideas And Capable People – Marisa Xuereb

The following is the speech given by Marisa Xuereb, The Malta Chamber President, during the EY Parthenon Malta Future Realised Conference 2022.

Hon Prime Minister, Hon Leader of the Opposition, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good morning.

Every year, EY Malta does a brilliant job of bringing us all together to take a snapshot of this miracle economy of ours: our dear Malta. For an economy of such a small size without any natural resources to speak of, we have done well. We do not have many large multinationals operating from Malta, but we have a handful of leading names in every sector that we have committed ourselves to develop over the years: from the original economic pillars of manufacturing and tourism, to our fully-fledged services sector driven by financial services, ICT and iGaming in more recent years. The degree of diversification of our economy is quite remarkable for a micro island state.

Our competitiveness has always rested on a combination of investment-friendly government policies and diligent human resources. Every sector that we have managed to establish in our economy has been built on robust fiscal and regulatory incentives coupled with a workforce that delivered good value for money. Our entrepreneurial private sector always sought to make the most of the opportunities presented to it. This recipe served us well for decades but was put to the test in the last couple of years through the FATF greylisting. The resolve of the regulatory authorities involved and the cooperation of private sector operators, particularly those in financial services, has enabled us to get off the greylist within 12 months – a major achievement for all involved that avoided permanent damage to our economy. The lesson learned is that reputation matters, and we should all be mindful of the risks of entertaining easy money.

Legitimate business is about hard work and smart ideas. It requires capable people. While Government policies have to fit within the parameters of EU and international law obligations, and the complexity on this front increases every year, the biggest challenge we are facing is that of guaranteeing a capable workforce going forward. Human resource shortages have been a mounting concern for several years. As our economy grows and demand for labour increases, new entrants into the labour market cannot meet the gaps left by the droves of people who retire and the increasing demand for more complex skill sets. The gains made through a steady increase in female participation in the last decade have plateaued, and the declining birth rate coupled with the eagerness of young graduates to seek greener pastures overseas, is making it very difficult for businesses to recruit locally. The international competition for third country national workers is making it harder to recruit and retain capable foreign workers as well. There is also a realisation that our infrastructure cannot cope with an ever-increasing population, and the pressures of this are seriously compromising our quality of life. Everything seems to be pointing in the direction of a major rethink of the way our economy functions: how can we do more with less people, and how can what we do be of higher value. In other words: how we can improve productivity and move up the economic value chain.

Foreign direct investment has a key role to play in the process of economic transformation that we need to embark on to achieve these goals. A lot of what needs to be done involves significant investment in technology, and the pace at which it will happen greatly depends on our ability to attract foreign investors who are able to bring in know-how that can augment local capabilities and foster synergies with existing technology companies. I would like to make an important point of clarification here. When I say technology, I don’t mean solely digital technology. The latter has become so present in our daily life that when we hear the word “technology”, we tend to think exclusively of digital technology – typically abbreviated as “tech”. But this is only one type of technology. There is a lot of other technology present in our manufacturing industry that we do not value enough. There is also a lot of other technology in our medical sector, where there is ample research potential. And there is a lot of other technology that goes into the building of infrastructure that we need to invest much more in. A decade of near-zero interest rates has seen a proliferation of investment in residential property that has not been matched by investment in infrastructure. This is the unfortunate legacy of lending policy support to speculation instead of systematic urban and infrastructural planning that would have guaranteed a much better quality of life for decades to come.

A major determinant of future resilience is our green transition. Let us be clear. Covid was a major economic shock and a menacing social experiment; the war in Ukraine and the ensuing energy crisis is one of the biggest political and economic challenges that the EU has ever faced; but climate change remains the biggest long-term threat to human life as we know it. The EU has recognised this and most recent legislative developments, including those related to state aid and trade, have been spurred by the green transition. It is therefore in the interest of every business to align its investment plans with the ambitions of the green transition to be able to benefit from the funding support available at present, and to avoid being subject to green taxes, whether directly or indirectly, in future. Admittedly, there is still quite a bit of confusion in the air triggered by the very bold attempt to address the pressing priority of decarbonisation through a very broad ESG-reporting framework that is highly susceptible to bureaucratic overkill, and risks shifting the focus away from the real carbon footprint of business activities to the asset-pricing interests of large corporates.

While the current geopolitical uncertainties are clearly impacting businesses and will have casualties, there are a couple of opportunities that require concerted effort at an EU level to be capitalised upon. There are players along the energy supply chain that are benefitting from supernormal profits. The EU has floated the idea of taxing such profits to be able to subsidies energy costs for low-income earners and businesses at risk. An alternative or potentially complementary line of action could be to incentivise the investment of those profits into renewable energy infrastructure that would help accelerate the green transition and reduce energy dependency risks in future.

The other opportunity is that of rebuilding some of the productive capacity that Europe has lost in the last couple of decades to cheaper, less regulated markets primarily in Asia. In the age of globalisation, when trade was seen as a gateway to prosperity and a peace broker, investment flows into and out of the EU were largely driven by the interplay of state aid rules and regional aid guidelines, and the cheap labour attraction of distant economies. Risk management came back to life with Covid and became key to survival with the invasion of the Ukraine. Near-shoring and reshoring are now topics of serious conversation. But their viability will be grossly dependent on how the EU will strike a balance between its ambitious pre-war carbon-reduction targets and its support of the manufacturing industry against the backdrop of spiralling energy costs. The state aid framework will be challenged more than ever before because countries have varying degrees of fiscal manoeuvrability as a result of the Covid-induced relaxation of the Stability and Growth Pact rules for fiscal discipline that has seen several eurozone Governments accumulate high debts. It is against this fiscal backdrop that the prospect of a looming recession in Europe raises real concern.

Economic growth is a universal measure of prosperity. It is subject to the criticism that it says nothing about the distribution of wealth and income, the quality of life of people and the sustainability of an economy – all valid points because it is true that economic growth measures none of this. But the real anomaly arises when accelerated economic growth actually results in more pronounced wealth and income disparities, a deterioration in the quality of life of people and unsustainable use of finite natural resources. And we have seen some of this happening in recent years. This does not mean that we must abandon the pursuit of economic growth for greater prosperity, but it clearly shows that the way we achieve that growth is what really matters.

The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry published an economic vision for Malta 2020-2025 a couple of years ago. In that document, we had identified human capital, digitalisation, sustainability and good governance as the four pillars on which our future economic growth needs to be built. If any of these four are weak, long-term prosperity will be compromised. We are making progress on digitalisation and good governance, but we are struggling with sustainability and human capital. Digitalisation delivers immediate productivity gains and is therefore the easiest to get decisionmakers to buy into. The only real constraint to our progress on digitalisation is the availability of adequately qualified and affordable human capital to make things happen. Good governance was given a push by our greylisting experience. Sustainability is more challenging because it requires making more judicious use of resources today to improve future outcomes for society at large. The deferment of benefit and its accrual to society at large rather than the individual requires a lot of education and a radical change in our value set to be truly embraced. There are reasons to believe that the moment we embrace this, even our biggest immediate problem – which is human capital – starts being alleviated. Some might argue, yes, because economic growth will stall and we will need less people. At the Malta Chamber we have a different understanding: it will happen because economic growth will be driven by investment in infrastructure and green technology that will improve our attractiveness to future-minded investors, more discerning customers and better educated human resources that are highly mobile and value sustainability because they understand how it impacts quality of life. Quality over quantity. Substance over form. Long-term vision over short-term goals. A better future realised.

Very interesting times lie ahead. The challenges are great for everyone. Let us use our strengths well and work hard to address our major weaknesses, so that we can turn the present threats into opportunities for a more resilient future. Thank you.

Accelerating Investment In Energy Efficiency By Maltese Businesses

ALISON MIZZI – MBB President

The policy drive towards greater climate ambition has intensified substantially over the past decade. As part of its climate change mitigation strategy, the European Union is calling on EU member states to adopt more ambitious emission reduction targets to be able to meet the legally binding commitment of becoming climate neutral by 2050. A key component of this vision is to significantly increase energy efficiency.

The private sector holds significant potential to increase energy efficiency levels and invest in greener energy sources. As the EU Advisory organisation of The Malta Chamber of Commerce and the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, the Malta Business Bureau (MBB) acknowledges this importance and has been involved in several EU and national projects focusing on business needs and which aim to raise awareness on critical issues such as energy efficiency.

This provided the MBB firsthand experience on the desire of Maltese businesses to invest, improve their operations, and contribute towards climate action. Crucially, many lessons were learned on what stumbling blocks are in their way to achieve these objectives.

Clearly, there is still a basic need to create awareness among certain businesses of the benefits that energy efficiency measures can bring to their companies. Others require some handholding on what to look for and where to start. This confirms a clear need for national authorities to provide capacity building especially among smaller businesses. Through collaborations with the Energy and Water Agency, the MBB organized several best practice workshops where businesses share their experiences and innovative solutions to common challenges. These types of actions go a long way to supporting businesses with limited capacity or experience in adopting energy efficiency measures. That said, the key hurdle to increased ambition by businesses is undoubtedly the lack of suitable funding opportunities to support private investment.

The green transition requires an unprecedented level of investment across virtually all sectors, with the cost for businesses anticipated to be significant. While Maltese businesses embrace the green ambition to safeguard Malta’s economic future, public policies should be drafted by carefully considering the context in which businesses are operating in.

This is especially true in the current economic circumstances. Businesses are exceptionally contending with rising input prices, supply-side issues, logistical hurdles, staff shortages, and long-term energy uncertainties. All these contribute towards ever-mounting expenses. Energy efficiency may therefore not top the priority list in which businesses opt to allocate their limited capital. Given the urgency to see investments in energy efficiency, appropriate financial support from government and the EU is indispensable.

Positively, several local and EU funding opportunities exist which Maltese businesses can already apply for to support their investments. These range from local schemes, including Malta Enterprise and the Energy & Water Agency national support measures, to schemes stemming from European funds such as the Recovery and Resilience Facility and other Structural Funds.

While these are certainly steps in the right direction, their execution can be improved to pose a more attractive incentive for businesses to take up these opportunities and invest. This is because so far, due to state aid rules for instance, financial support has only been limited to the incremental difference in the price between efficient and non-efficient solutions. This has created an insufficient incentive for businesses to give up older practices and invest in newer ones. With the revision of the EU’s General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) governing the state aid framework, we remain hopeful that necessary changes will be made in this regard to properly incentivise the uptake of energy efficient solutions by businesses.

As for the local disbursement of EU funds, particularly from the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the bulk of the support is being diverted towards public buildings and infrastructure. The public sector leading by example is a core tenet of the EU Green Deal. But considering that every euro of investment by the private sector yields a higher multiplier effect in the economy, Government should consider increasing the share of available funding support for the private sector.

Aside from funding, there are other considerations such as effective implementation. For instance, businesses would benefit from more timely schemes that are demand driven, flexible, and with minimal bureaucracy as possible.

Ambitious climate targets must be met with ambitious public financing. Measures to date, while welcome, are nowhere close to the level of energy efficiency investment that needs to be mobilised to achieve requirements under the Energy Efficiency Directive. It is therefore imperative that the drive to incentivise energy efficiency investments is significantly accelerated sooner rather than later if we are to contribute our share to the EU climate objectives in a significant way.

Construction Companies Should Embrace The Sustainability Transition, Not Resist It

Engineers are a crucial cog in the country’s journey towards more enhanced environmental climate practices in the construction sector

“Differentiation should be made between projects that are targeting Net Zero and conventional ones”. Ing Stefan De Marco, Policy Executive on Sustainability at The Malta Chamber said this during the 29th Annual Engineering Conference organised by the Chamber of Engineers. He echoed The Malta Chamber Pre-Budget 2023 proposal calling for a point-system for new construction applications for all new builds commending and fast-tracking net-zero contracts.

He also explained that engineers are a crucial cog in the country’s journey towards more enhanced environmental climate practices in the construction sector, adding that due recognition and consultation from policy makers should be sought from the profession to reflect realities on the ground and make policy work.

In his remarks, Ing De Marco explained that The Malta Chamber advocates its policy making from a 5-pillar perspective, with Sustainability being one of them. He gave examples how The Malta Chamber provides a platform for engineers within its thematic and business sections as part of its conviction that Industry is the real driver of change.

New Retail Business Section Established Within The Malta Chamber

The Retail Business Section will support The Malta Chamber to be the true voice of the sector

The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry has launched a new business section dedicated to retail.

The Retail Business Section will support The Malta Chamber to be the true voice of the sector in Malta to:

– facilitate business operations in Malta
– pro-actively address policy issues with tangible recommendations
– uptake opportunities deriving from digitalisation and sustainability transition
– ensure that mutually trusted relationship with customers remains central and
– aligns practices to a fast-evolving changing consumer behaviour and expectations.

The Retail Business Section will be made up of the following members:

Malcolm Camilleri – Chair

Mr Malcolm Camilleri is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of PG plc, a listed Maltese company which holds a leading market position in the FMCG sector as well as the local textile industry.

A Certified Public Accountant and a fellow Member of both the Institute of Accountants and Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, he sits on the Board of Directors of various PG plc owned companies.

Mr. Camilleri joined PG Group in 2006 as Chief Financial Officer following a 3-year experience at an audit firm. His expertise includes business development, auditing, strategic planning, financial accounting and business analysis. He is also a resourceful individual and the company’s driving force in generating new ideas and devising feasible solutions to more efficient operational processes while maintaining a positive and proactive attitude.

Nick Spiteri Paris – Deputy Chair

 Nick Spiteri Paris is the Chief Executive Officer at Bigbon Group. With over 15 years of experience working with a number of world leading brands in the fashion retail sector, Nick has vast experience in both franchising and the local retail market.

A passionate advocate for omni-channel retailing, Nick has piloted several initiatives driving Bigbon Group towards a fully integrated approach to offer customers a unified shopping experience across online and offline channels. 

Andrew Abela

Andrew Abela joined his family business “Franks Stores” upon graduating from the University of Malta in Philosophy and Anthropology.

His main passion is helping his company grow in a thriving market across its multi- brand local retail branches.

Andrew was eager to join the Chamber to help find new avenues for growth for the retail business and bring about positive change.

Jonathan Shaw

Transforming ideas into reality, driving projects, finding solutions, connecting people and adding value is key for Jon. Having his first start-up whilst still at university, Jonathan has substantial experience in management with a hands-on multi-disciplinary approach in setting up and running businesses. His skills in communication, leading teams and creative spark adds value to clients, top management, board of directors and shareholders. Jonathan has worked in various sectors starting with event management, Tv production, marketing, online travel and retail. In June 2020, Jonathan was asked to be Chair of Retail Marketing Ltd and drive the group’s merger and rebrand of a number of supermarkets to Welbee’s Supermarkets.

The recent appointment of CEO resulted through a natural progression of working closely with the board of directors and the company’s c-levels and top management. Jonathan has a Bachelor of Commerce and a Masters in Business Administration.

Owen Lee

 Having been brought up working within the shops from a very young age, at every level in a typical family business setup, Owen officially joined Centro Management as a managing director after finishing his Studies and obtaining his Warrant as a Certified Public Accountant.

Today his focus within the business is on finance and business development having been instrumental in setting up the company’s corporate structure. Having worked within the small-business retail industry for practically all his life, Owen has gained vast experience to understand the needs and wants of the Maltese retailer.

Ritianne Grech

Ritianne initiated her retail career at the age of 16 when she worked with Hudson’s home-grown concept, Urban Jungle. She later occupied roles in retail management for various high street fashion brands including Arkadia Marketing Limited. In 2011, she re-joined Hudson Group as Brand Manager and was shortly promoted to Retail Operations Manager where she oversaw the day-to-day operations of the stores managed by Hudson in Malta. She was later appointed as a Director of Hudson Malta Sales. As Country Manager she is now responsible for the following areas: Wholesale, Retail, Team sport, Marketing, and Maintenance. Ms Grech has been instrumental in elevating the local retail landscape and introducing Malta to world-renowned brands.

Hudson is the leading fashion and sports retailer in Malta with brands such as NIKE, Ted Baker, River Island, New Look, Intersport, Urban Jungle, Urban Bratz, Kiabi, Mango, Tommy Hilfiger, Armani Exchange, Mango and Calvin Klein. It also has its own Malta online store, hudsonstore.com, launched in 2020. It is also present in Italy through Urban Jungle and BlackBox as well as in Cyprus with Kiabi.

Hudson is also a significant operator in the international field. In total, Hudson currently manages over 30 stores in Malta, and another 30 stores spread across Africa and Southern Europe including Algeria, Morocco, Nigeria, Cyprus and Italy.  By the end of 2022, the group will open an additional 17 new stores in all its territories.

The group’s head office in Malta, with supporting offices in Italy, Cyprus, Algeria, Morocco and Nigeria.

Sarah Zammit Cutajar

Ms Sarah Zammit Cutajar joined the family business at 19, when she applied for the position of secretary to the Sales and Marketing Director.

With meritocracy inscribed in the company’s code of practice, Sarah worked her way up over the years to the position of CEO, which she holds today. A firm believer in working towards lasting change, Sarah’s objectives are to make the company one that is more sustainable – from constantly perfecting her team’s work-life balance, to contributing to a better world in terms of P.Cutajar’s footprint.

“My role is to guide people and to listen. I do consider myself a leader and I don’t like to take a decision without listening or hearing what people have to say. I like to speak to everybody on the team – whoever they may be. Interaction with my staff is essential.”

ITB For Financial Support For Electricity From Renewable Sources Of Energy Installations

The Regulator for Energy and Water Services (REWS) together with the Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Enterprise (MEEE) has recently launched a bid for private entrepreneurs to invest in the development of large renewable energy projects such as solar farms and wind turbines.

As a follow-up to consultation talks and feedback obtained from major stakeholders, the Government will offer financial support for private investors to generate clean energy through these developments. Through this scheme, the Government will invest up to a maximum of seventy-four million Euro (€74M) over a period of twenty years. This investment will, in turn, translate into the creation of more green jobs, and complements the islands’ vision for a de-carbonised economy by 2050.

Five calls are on offer, in two separate categories which will be running consecutively:

Generation of renewable energy from capacities of 40kW up to less than 200kW, and from 200kW up to less than 1000kW respectively. The schedule below refers:

solar

Further technical information and details may be found on the Government Gazette as well as on the REWS website at: https://www.rews.org.mt/#/en/tenders/224. Prospective applicants may also contact REWS offices, via email (enquiry@rews.org.mt) or telephone 2295 5000.

The Malta Chamber Presents 2023 Pre-Budget Recommendations To The Leader Of The Opposition

“The Malta Chamber also feels that the ease with which business is done should be improved to mitigate inflation with greater operational efficiency, as well as the competitiveness of businesses in our country.”

The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry met with Leader of the opposition Dr Bernard Grech to present the 2023 pre-budget recommendations. During the meeting, President of The Malta Chamber, Marisa Xuereb, explained that the Chamber based its proposals on five points that she feels should be better identified and addressed. She mentioned, in particular, inflation and energy, which are challenges on everyone’s mind, but also the labour market which is not functioning as it should.

“The Malta Chamber also feels that the ease with which business is done should be improved to mitigate inflation with greater operational efficiency, as well as the competitiveness of businesses in our country, particularly when it comes to transport and connectivity, which are huge challenges for our country due to it being an island,” said President Xuereb.

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For his part, the Leader of the Nationalist Party expressed his satisfaction that some of the proposals of The Malta Chamber are very close to proposals that the Nationalist Party presented in the Electoral Program for the last general election. He said that he is in full agreement with The Malta Chamber with regards to justice and good governance.

Dr Grech said that both sides agreed on the importance of addressing environmental issues as well as that giving the necessary importance with regards to the educational sector which needs to prepare and form people for the needs of society.

He reiterated that now, one should look forward to ensure that the 2023 Budget addresses the problems that are directly affecting the general public.

Accompanying President Xuereb were Deputy President Chris Vassallo Cesareo, Vice President Nick Xuereb, and member of the BOM Mark Bajada, together with The Malta Chamber CEO Dr Marthese Portelli, Head of Policy, Kevin Mizzi and Head of Media and Communications Strategy, Rachel Attard.

The Leader of the Nationalist Party was accompanied by Secretary General Michael Piccinino, Spokesperson for the Economy Ivan J. Bartolo, Spokesperson for Work Ivan Castillo, Spokesperson for Consumer Rights Rebekah Borg, Spokesperson for the Social Dialogue Claudette Buttigieg, Spokesperson for Public Administration Darren Carabott and Spokesperson for European Funds Bernice Bonello.

Employers Cannot Ignore The Mental Health Of The Employees – The Malta Chamber

Work environments are greatly affected by the mental health of the people working in them and thus employers cannot ignore the mental health of their employees

“The smoothness of the workflow of a business is dependent on the resilience of the weakest link,” President of The Malta Chamber Ms. Marisa Xuereb said during a conference titled Mental Wellbeing – a Priority for Your Business during World Mental Health Day. She stressed that work is such an important part of life, that it makes more sense to talk about work-life harmony rather than a balancing act between the two. President Xuereb said that, “work environments are greatly affected by the mental health of the people working in them and thus employers cannot ignore the mental health of their employees. It is their concern because it impacts not just the employee who needs help but everyone else in the organisation, including other employees, customers and even suppliers.”

This position was also echoed by Ms. Catherine Calleja, Chair of the Health and Wellness Committee and Director of Atlas Insurance, who supported this event. She acknowledged that employers are increasingly doing more to create positive flexible workplaces and hybrid options but that individuals still fall prey to serious levels of stress, anxiety, depression and worse and greatly affect the whole team’s wellbeing and sense of purpose. She also touched upon the difficulties faced by foreign workers, and by men who find it much harder to ask for help.

During this event Dr Natasha Azzopardi Muscat, Director of the Division of Country Health Policies and Systems with WHO and Dr Denis Vella Baldacchino, Commissioner for Mental Health, portrayed a sobering reality; around the world, 15% of working age adults suffer from a mental health disorder at any given time, at a cost of $2.5 trillion in lost economic activity and in costs directly associated to care. Locally, 65% of involuntary admissions to Mount Carmel Hospital are people who are less than 45 years old, with 30% of them being under thirty. Furthermore, a 3% rise was seen in people who professed to have depressive symptoms between 2015 and 2020.

These worrying statistics were also mentioned by Frank Zammit, station manager of Vibe Fm and mental health advocate who, in a pre-recorded interview, urged people in authority to really take note of the mental health crisis that seems to be underway, and to remove the stigma attached to mental health by acknowledging that going through a mental health struggle is normal and that wellbeing at the workplace should be prioritized consistently, and not through knee-jerk reactions.

During a panel discussion in this conference, Dr Stephanie Xuereb, CEO of Mental Health Services, reminded the audience that the statistics in hand are only the tip of the iceberg, and represent only those people who sought assistance through public health structures. She also confirmed that many workers who seeks help are foreigners, partly due to the fact that they find themselves in Malta without the safety net made up of family and friends, but also acknowledged that environment problems and the war in Ukraine are currently strong triggers for millennials and younger, and that the rise in drug use is also a major contributing factor. Other triggers which were mentioned by Mireille Pellegrini Petit, Clinical and Coaching Psychologist specialized in wellbeing at work, were bullying at work, autocratic leadership, as well as discrimination.

When asked whether there is a legal requirement for an employee to disclose any mental health disorders to their employer, Dr Marthese Portelli, CEO of The Malta Chamber, clarified that one should look at the legal framework holistically. While Data Protection Laws and the Mental Health Act provide for the right of confidentiality of the employee, the Health and Safety Act then places the responsibility of the health and safety of all the employees at workplace on the employer. Hence, the question of whether the employer should know or not is a pertinent one, as knowledge of an employee’s mental condition means that the employer is then duty bound to ensure the safety of the employee in question, their colleagues, as well as the persons that they are obliged to serve.

This argument was sustained by Inspector Omar Zammit, who mentioned a case where an employee was fired for not performing at her place of work by an employer who was not aware that she was suffering from depression. The termination resulted in a failed attempt at suicide in which he had to intervene, with the person now receiving the care that they needed. He also added that the Police Force is also recognising the importance of mental health within its structure, and it is holding training sessions to help officers in recognising mental health issues amongst their colleagues.

Dr Portelli stressed that knowledge of an employee’s mental health condition was not a matter of knowing just for the sake of wanting to know, or to use said knowledge as a gatekeeping exercise during the recruitment process. It is a matter of care and protection and a strive to eradicate the element of shame and to instil a culture of openness in an environment where no form of harassment will be tolerated.

Atlas Insurance holds ‘Atlas Day’ for its employees focused on the future of work

Atlas Insurance has once again organized ‘Atlas Day’ for its employees based on the theme “The Future of Work”. The full-day event was held at Xara Lodge in Rabat.

This was the first Atlas Day held since the pandemic. The entire team spent a day out of the office to rest and enjoy themselves, whilst being inspired by local industry leaders, socialising through team-building activities and sharing ideas on the day’s theme. By having such an informal gathering employees could get to know each other better, as well as participate in a townhall during which key topics were covered.

Following a meet and greet over coffee, tea and healthy snacks, Matthew von Brockdorff – Managing Director and CEO of Atlas Insurance – kicked off proceedings with a series of talks covering the changes the firm has gone through over the years.

“I wanted to share my journey within the company with TeamAtlas, including how I adapted to the numerous changes and challenges that the insurance sector has faced as well as the new ways of working, which we know have been rather significant in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. I also wanted to share with TeamAtlas the importance of agility in organisational and personal change and I was pleased with the healthy exchange and sharing of positive stories we had during the sessions,” Mr von Brockdorff said.

Chief Human Resources Officer Jackie Attard Montalto spoke about the job skills required in our changing world, and how to approach change to survive and thrive: “Growing up in and moving into a completely different world, we often find mismatches between expectations and reality, across all generations. It’s a very interesting challenge for companies to create jobs which offer service which goes beyond client expectations, and at the same time creating the same experience for their own employees – a work experience which allows people to grow in a positive, supportive work environment.”

Katrina Grech, COO of Mdina International, was invited as a guest speaker to share with TeamAtlas her views on leadership and the future of work, particularly highlighting the concept of servant leadership. Business coach and Managing Director of Vistage Malta Nathan Farrugia gave a presentation on intrapreneurship, its ties to self-development and openness to change.

In line with Atlas’ strong interest in ESG, a tour of the Xara Gardens was organized, during which TeamAtlas was exposed to the way the Xara Collection is growing its own crops through consultation between the farmers and the chefs within the group, creating a true farm to fork system – by adopting a combination of Regenerative Farming and Aquaponics.

The rest of the day was dedicated to recreation, filled with fun activities which allowed many Atlas team members who hadn’t seen each other for many months to get to know each other and reconnect!

The Malta Chamber Council Meets With PN MEP Candidate Dr Peter Agius To Discuss EU-Related Matters

MEPs need to take on a more active role while realising that various sectors have different needs and we should move away from a one-size-fits-all approach

Earlier this week, The Malta Chamber of Commerce Enterprise and Industry Council met with PN MEP candidate Dr Peter Agius. During this meeting, it was highlighted that there needs to be less bureaucracy on EU related matters while promoting competitiveness in order for local businesses to thrive and grow internationally.

peter agius

Marisa Xuereb, The Malta Chamber President, noted that the EU needs to take into consideration that some member states have connectivity challenges because of their insularity and peripherality.

The Council emphasised that Maltese MEPs need to take on a more active role while realising that various sectors have different needs and we should move away from a one-size-fits-all approach.

peter agius