Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1419161
4 NEWS 14.10.2021 INTERCONTINENTAL & Holiday Inn Express Malta has announced the appointment of Carlos Malliaroudakis as Cluster General Manager start- ing 1 October 2021. Malliaroudakis, a Greek national born in Leba- non, started his hospitality journey back in 1988 in Athens, Greece. He brings an international hospitality experience of 33 years, mainly in luxury properties where he spent 20 years with InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), and more than 13 years with ho- tel companies such as Accor, Rotana and other privately owned hotels. He eventually worked in Greece, Lebanon, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait and UAE. Before arriving in Malta, Carlos held the posi- tion of General Manager for four years at the icon- ic InterContinental Jordan, a heritage hotel con- sidered as "La Grande Dame of Amman" and the largest property in Jordan. Malliaroudakis will provide leadership and stra- tegic planning to both hotels, supporting a service culture, to elevate guest experience. He said he is looking forward to being the ambassador for the brand and for the hotel. He speaks four languages, including Arabic, French, Greek and English. He has been married for almost 30 years and has three daughters. His wife Lina is an international teacher and is work- ing with the French Institute. Malliaroudakis is passionate about music, the Mediterranean, and loves co-piloting airplanes in real flights and flight simulators. New cluster general manager for InterContinental and Holiday Inn Express Malta Former IBM country sales manager joins EBO as director of new Cyprus office More than 10,000 benefit from HSBC Malta's Future Skills Programme FOLLOWING EBO's recent announcement of its expansion to Cyprus, the company has now an- nounced the appointment of Alexandros Patsali- des as its new Director for its Financial Services Division headquartered in Cyprus. Patsalides has more than 18 years of experience working in the financial services sector, has led key strategic initiatives for blue chip companies and enjoys a solid background in change manage- ment, business and IT. Passionate about managing key client relation- ships, achieving great results and creating real and sustainable change, Patsalides joins EBO in a moment of market acceleration which is seeing the organisation grow its influence and revenue. In his leadership role, he will be handling EBO's business projects related to banking, forex, pay- ment providers and insurance segments. As a technology and business strategist, Patsali- des believes that EBO's AI-powered tools are the perfect solution for forward-looking companies and CEOs looking to stay ahead of the curb in the current business climate. "I am excited to be joining EBO at this moment in time, leading such a crucial division of the com- pany," said Patsalides. "e work that EBO is do- ing in Conversational AI Virtual Agents is second- to-none. What differentiates our service offerings is our dedication to providing value from the very beginning, and the fact that we work with our cli- ents to become key partners in creating value to the organisation". Gege Gatt, CEO of EBO, explained that: "Alex- andros will empower the strategic growth of our customers through his vast knowledge of digital transformation. EBO's mission is to accelerate the change in the customer engagement industry by providing AI tools to companies of all sizes. Alex- andros is a key player in this mission and his in- sights are industry-relevant and inspiring." Before joining EBO, Patsalides was the Coun- try Sales Manager for IBM Italia S.p.A (Cyprus Branch), CIO of the Executive Business School 'P.A. College' and Sales Manager (EMEIA Region) for Tools for Brokers. EBO is a multinational company working in the Artificial Intelligence space by providing Virtu- al Agents that automate repetitive customer-en- gagement processes. is allows humans to focus on complex tasks, whist its Virtual Agents handle the mundane. EBO is a Microsoft partner and an approved Crown Commercial Supplier in the UK. THE HSBC Malta Foundation has invested more than US$500,000 since 2018 to deliver the Bank's global Future Skills Programme to more than 10,000 people in Malta and Gozo. rough this programme, the HSBC Malta Foundation supports individuals from diverse backgrounds to develop the skills they need to find secure employment, particular- ly in emerging sectors such as the green and digital econ- omies. e eight programmes established thanks to the Foundation's funding have reached a wide range of benefi- ciaries who have received financial capability education in order to become more employable. e numerous organisations in Malta who have benefit- ted from the HSBC Future Skills Programme include the JAYE Foundation, Prince's Trust International, the Nation- al Council of Women, the Malta Federation of Past Pupils of Don Bosco, Marija Regina College, the Malta Down Syndrome Association, the Science Centre Project, Busi- ness and Professional Women (Valletta) and the Malta Business Bureau. Among the various projects, one of the stand out suc- cesses has been the Prince's Trust International's Achieve programme which, since 2015, has helped hundreds of pri- mary school children at risk of underachieving. e pro- gramme sees students build confidence and skills by work- ing on hands-on projects and activities in small groups. In 2021, the programme has proved particularly valuable, moving online during the pandemic to support 541 chil- dren in 39 different schools. e past year also saw Maltese student Katriel Zahra become the first ever Prince's Trust Global Award Regional Winner for Europe. Caroline Buhagiar Klass, Head of Human Resources and Corporate Sustainability at HSBC Malta said "e Future Skills Programme has had a significant impact in Malta be- coming a key contributor to the upskilling of the country's present day and future workforce. e HSBC Malta Foun- dation will continue to build on this valuable progress as part of its commitment to not only helping Malta succeed but doing so sustainably." Over the period 2018 to 2020, HSBC Bank invested US$115 million in its global Future Skills Programme reaching more than four million people. GO p.l.c. has announced that Samir Saied has submitted his resignation from the post of Chairman and director of the company with immediate effect. e decision follows Saied's appointment as Minister For Economy and Planification in Tunisia. e Board of Directors of GO p.l.c. thanked Saied for his loyal service and wished him success. GO chairman resigns after being appointed to Tunisia's Cabinet