Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1215405
27.02.2020 5 NEWS Second edition of Malta Businesswoman of the Year Award launched THE second edition of the Malta Busi- nesswoman of the Year Award (MB- WYA) was launched today by His Ex- cellency the President of Malta, George Vella. e award, created with the sup- port of HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c., under the patronage of the President of Malta, is designed to promote and recognise women who have achieved significant success in business, and therefore, also aims to inspire and empower women to reach their full potential. is year's edition of MBWYA will once again be sponsored by HSBC, to- gether with Farsons Group and Nestle' Malta Ltd. e 2020 edition of MBWYA will once again be divided into a number of cate- gories. e main award, which in 2019 was won by Natalie Briffa Farrugia, Chief Executive Officer at CareMalta Group Ltd, will be presented to a female business owner/entrepreneur, director, executive/manager or professional who has achieved outstanding success. is will be measured in all aspects of the business, from profitability to cus- tomer relations and from strong and consistent growth to innovation and implementation. Additionally, an award will also be presented to the Young Businesswoman of the Year, a female business leader under 35 years of age who is already blazing a trail for her generation. Two company awards will also be given to recognise those busi- nesses which display excellence in the promotion of women in business. One category will be open to smaller busi- nesses with up to 50 full time employees and the other for larger businesses and corporations. During a meeting held with partners of the Malta Businesswoman of the Year Awards, HE President George Vella, underlined the importance of promot- ing gender equality, especially from a young age, and to recognise the added value women bring to the place of work. Both sides agreed that education is key to change local perceptions and biases about women's role in society and con- tribution to the country's economy. Andrew C Beane, Chief Executive Of- ficer at HSBC Malta, said, "I believe that the most successful businesses are those which have diversity of thought at the centre of their culture. While our econ- omy has grown strongly, its full poten- tial continues to be held back by a lack of gender diversity at the most senior levels of the country's businesses. ese important awards, now in their second edition, shine a spotlight on the many talented female executives Malta has, creating new role models and placing positive pressure on existing business leaders to facilitate change. At HSBC, I am proud that half of our most sen- ior leaders are female executives, all of whom reached the highest level of the bank based on their ability and perfor- mance." Giuliana Isolani, Country Manager at Nestle' Malta, said, "Globally, Nestle' is purposefully committed about empow- ering women and we are proud of the fact that our company was included in the 2019 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI). Our commitment to gen- der balance in Malta is equally strong and, in fact, 40 per cent of our Executive Committee are women. ese numbers are the result of an embedded gender balance strategy across all our business practices and policies which support female talents to pursue their careers, such as agile work or teleworking. Our decision to sponsor MBWYA aims not only to help recognise the success of fe- male entrepreneurs but also to encour- age other businesses to actively pursue gender balance in their operations." Norman Aquilina, Chief Executive Officer at Farsons Group, said, "While progress has been made in creating equal opportunities for men and wom- en in Malta, there is still a lot to be done. Society still needs more female role models who inspire us all to strive for a better future. Farsons is committed to supporting MBWYA precisely because it is a great platform to showcase indi- viduals and organisations that, through a culture of diversity and equality, have achieved impressive results." More information on MBWYA, in- cluding on how to apply, is available at www.mbwya.com.mt. Applications close on Wednesday 1 April 2020. Left to right: Astrid Micallef Saliba, Caroline Buhagiar Klass, Andrew Beane, His Excellency the President of Malta, George Vella, Norman Aquilina, Giuliana Isolani, Charlene Ellul and Antoinette Caruana FORMER Bank of Valletta CEO Mario Mallia passed away yesterday after complications de- veloped while he was undergoing an operation at Mater Dei Hospital. Mallia, 59, stepped down from the top post at BOV at the end of 2019, when he was re- placed by former Northern Rock executive Rick Hunkin. He joined Bank of Valletta in September 1979 and had been a member of the Bank's Manage- ment Board since 2005, during which time he has occupied the posts of Chief Finance Officer, Chief Risk Officer and Chief Operations Officer. He was chairman of the Asset & Liability Management Committee (ALCO) of the Bank, and a director on the boards of MSV Life plc and of Valletta Fund Services Ltd. He was appointed CEO in January 2016. Mallia received his education at De La Salle College, Cottonera, and held a Master of Arts degree from the University of Malta. He was a Certified Public Accountant by pro- fession, and was a Fellow of the Malta Institute of Accountants. Mallia was married to Rosette Mallia, and had two children, Daniela and Bernard. Former Bank of Valletta CEO Mario Mallia, 59, passes away