Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1103271
10.04.19 11 INTERVIEW your mind? One event where two chil- dren were killed, and I was involved in the investigation into why they were playing with a cluster bomblet. The parents were on site when it happened, and it was a har- rowing time. What would you consider the greatest achievement of your work in this sector? I am not sure to be honest. I have had many achievements in the course of my work throughout my life. If I were to select two work-related achievements, they would be (1) raising the level of compe- tency in the industry by bet- ter training and implement- ing higher standards, thereby decreasing accidents, and (2) the clearance of Rwanda of all landmines and ERW in high population and subsistence regions, way before the Otta- wa Treaty's Article 5 deadline. What was it like participating in EY's Entrepreneur of the Year Award like? Did you expect to win the Rising Star Award? In all honesty I do not usu- ally enter such competitions. Karl Strobl, my business part- ner, decided to enter due to his past attendance at the awards and his view of how much of a great event it is. Thereafter my experience has been a refreshing and of course rewarding one. The EY team have been outstanding in the way they communicated and welcomed PCM to the process – which is not common these days where professionalism and the personal touch meet. Did I expect to win the ris- ing star? No is the short an- swer, as the competition was fierce in terms of the other businesses involved and the numerical odds in being se- lected. BEN Remfrey's journey began at the age of 16 when he joined the British military. He started travelling the world as an engineer, dealing with explosives and dangerous land- mines. Following the Gulf War in Kuwait, he led a team of eight men as they cleared mines in an oil fi eld. After 18 months helping to clear over 700 wells, all eight men escaped unharmed as he applied the highest safety standards to ensure they got the job done without casualties. Now, after more than twenty-fi ve years at the forefront of the EOD & Mine Action in- dustry, during which time he also founded the Mines Awareness Trust, Ben is today the Managing Director of Praedium Consulting Malta (PCM) Ltd and MAT Kosovo's Explo- sive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) & Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) Training Establish- ment. PCM was originally founded with the in- tent to provide actual clearance services in war-torn regions and countries and consult national authorities on ammunitions storage, disposal, and stockpile reduction. However, early on an opportunity presented itself to acquire a controlling stake in MAT Kosovo which, however, was 100% focussed on train- ing professionals in the ERW sector. is in- volved training mine-clearers to International Mine Action Standards at all levels, but also specialist training such as disposal of chemi- cal, biological and cluster ammunitions, guid- ed weapons, improvised explosive devices, battle area clearance, and underwater clear- ance. As a result PCM's clearance services were in direct competition with organisations being trained by MAT Kosovo. A swift deci- sion was made to convert all PCM business activities to training, a decision which thanks to Ben's vision of improving standards and fo- cusing on training excellence, has proved to be the right one. I am able to be detached and work consciously and often with a surgical approach. But emotions do factor in of course Below (from left): Harald Roesch, CEO at Melita, David Darmanin from Hotjar, Ben Remfrey from Praedium Consulting and Ron Attard, Managing Partner at EY Malta during the presentation of the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards