Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1398274
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 AUGUST 2021 NEWS Hosts for Malta Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai (2nd Call) Malta Enterprise is issuing a second call to engage personnel on a contract for service for the Malta Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, being held between 1st October 2021 and 31st March 2022. is is a great opportunity to be part of this exciting event and to live the Expo experience. e hosts will be the first point of contact at the Malta Pavilion and will be responsible for welcoming, assisting and communicating with visitors while ensuring that Malta's image is promoted in the best possible way. e hosts will also be responsible for other administrative support at the pavilion as necessary. e hosts must be proficient in both Maltese and English. Proficiency in additional languages, one preferably being Arabic, will be an asset. Interested applicants are to send a covering letter addressed to the Commissioner General of Malta, Malta Pavilion, Expo 2020 Dubai and which is to include a detailed CV outlining academic qualifications and work experience on email peopleandculture@maltaenterprise.com e closing date for application is Wednesday 11th August at 17:00 hrs. Late applications will not be accepted. Applicants who have already submitted their CV for the first call do not need to reapply. Soliciting will automatically disqualify any applicant. MATTHEW VELLA MALTA'S Industrial Tribunal ruled that former Malta Inter- national Airport chief execu- tive officer Markus Klaushofer breached company confidential- ity, when he exchanged sensitive data with a prospective buyer for MIA shares. Klaushofer's bid to have his 2015 sacking ruled illegal and obtain damages beyond a €400,000 termination offer which he refused, was thrown out by the Industrial Tribunal, which found him in serious breach of his obligations. Klaushofer had been accused of providing confidential data to Antin Infrastructure, an in- terested buyer seeking to ac- quire SNC-Lavalin's share in the consortium that owns the airport. MIA's majority share- holder (86%) today is Vienna International Airport operator VIE. MIA chairman Nicholas Gretzmacher accused Klaush- ofer of providing Antin with airport data in breach of a con- fidentiality agreement for di- rectors, ostensibly to become "friendly" with the new inves- tor to retain his executive po- sition. MIA chief executive officer Alan Borg also said Klaushofer had requested traffic forecasts from his own subordinates, and asked them to given the data a positive spin to influence the MIA share price. Borg said Klaushofer was an- gling for a new 10-year contract as CEO, at double his €175,000 salary, with Antin, which at the time was represented by for- mer MIA shareholder Michael Bianchi in a bid to acquire the SNC-Lavalin stake. Even Antin representative Maurizio Bolana told the In- dustrial Tribunal that Klaush- ofer's bid to extend his CEO's tenure, had not left a positive image of the candidate with Antin's CEO Alan Rauscher, during a meeting held in Au- gust 2014. "Klaushofer must have been communicating and meeting with the consortium and pro- viding information which the company was not authorized to provide to third parties… there was the possibility that the information being provided was projecting an image of the company which was not cor- rect, through inflated figures and forecasts," Gretzmacher told the Tribunal in an affida- vit. After sacking the CEO, an investigation revealed that Klaushofer had spent 220 days away from the island in 2014, "which in my view does not constitute sufficient time spent at the office on active duty in Malta for a person holding such a position," Gretzmacher said. Klaushofer stayed in Paris twice during December 2014 and January 2015, ostensibly to meet Antin representatives, and that throughout his stay had asked MIA employees to email him the business plan for the coming 10 years, MIA fore- casts, and data on non-aviation income. Between July 2014 and Jan- uary 2015, Klaushofer had "no fewer than 60 telephone calls with representatives of the consortium lasting in to- tal over five hours and he sent more than 400 text messages to them." Gretzmacher said Klaushofer had "particularly insensitive contact" with Mi- chael Bianchi, with 42 calls and 382 SMSes. "Klaushofer had an obligation to report immediately any at- tempt made by a representative of the consortium to establish contact… he not only violated this obligation, he also main- tained close contact with the consortium over the course of several months during a criti- cal phase for the sales negotia- tions," Gretzmacher said. Klaushofer insisted with the board that his sacking had been a fait accompli, instru- mentalised by MIA's majority shareholder VIE and its chief operating officer Julian Jaeger, MIA's one-time chief execu- tive. But during the hearing, he first denied meeting Antin CEO Alan Rauscher, then later admitted discussing the possi- bility of being kept on as CEO should Antin acquire the MIA shares. The Tribunal said the alleged contacts between Klaushofer and Antin had revealed a seri- ous breach of the CEO's obliga- tions, and that his actions had placed MIA at risk, denying the company his "full and unques- tionable trust". Sacked Malta airport CEO loses unfair dismissal bid Former CEO Markus Klaushofer accused of showing interested buyer sensitive MIA data in bid to obtain 10-year contract at double his salary