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4 MARKET NEWS 6.1.2022 GO's national connectivity project enters final phase FROM PAGE 1 The 55km 'LaValette' branch to Mal- ta started being laid down this morn- ing in Golden Bay and will connect Malta to the 3214km Mediterranean stretch between Marseille and Egypt. This project makes GO the first Mal- tese operator to have additional re- dundancy on interna-tional connec- tivity other than to Italy. In fact, this is the first repeatered cable to be laid to the Maltese islands which will pro- vide up to 16Tbps (tera bits per sec- ond) and provide a lower round trip delay over what can be offered today to Marseille. On 4 August last year, work started in the Abu Talat (Egypt) area towards the Branching Unit of Cyprus. This operation was completed on 23 Au- gust. The segment towards the Malta branch unit was then laid with the full operation being completed on 17 Oc- tober. The cable-laying vessel then per- formed the cable lay towards the fi- nal splice, which basical-ly joined the segment from Egypt to Malta to the segment towards France, with the final splice laid on the seabed on 17 November. The cable lay in Golden bay is the fi- nal phase of the operation. Once the cable reaches land, it will be connect- ed to the land equipment and tested to verify connectivity. The cable will also be protected on shore and in the sea and will also be secured to the seabed to avoid dam- age. End to end testing is estimated to happen in January or early February with full connectivity estimated to kick start in March. THE pandemic has dramatically in- creased the speed of change in work- force dynamics. Leaders are facing a whole new set of challenges. Particu- larly now in 2022, as advancements in artificial intelligence continue to make rapid progress, leaders and individuals need to focus more on the human ele- ment of their business. Taking these new realities into con- sideration, Malta BNI has asked per- formance coach Karl Grech to be the speaker of the upcoming 30-min- ute business briefing being held on Wednesday 19 January 2022 at 12 noon. Free registration can be done via https://bit.ly/3HBUsEX During his presentation, Grech will focus on e Engaging Leader by rec- ommending six actions to take in be- coming a more engaging leader. Held remotely at lunchtime via zoom, the Malta BNI Business Brief- ings (BBB) initiative is a series of free- of-charge online brief meetings or- ganised by Malta BNI, a body which forms part of the global Business Networking International (www.bni. com). Operating on the principle of Givers' Gain and promoting in- novative concepts of business refer- rals, today BNI has 10.500 chapters with more than 270,000 members. In 2021, notwithstanding the pandemic, through its innovative systems and core values, BNI members generat- ed more than €14 billion in business transactions. "Engagement starts with the leader. ey must empower and inspire their teams. Great leaders value higher en- gagement levels within their teams, not because it means higher revenue, but because it means their people are happy," Grech said. "A most important step in this regard is for them to invest authentically and honestly in their people. After all, it is about the engagement of people. One practical way to do this is by working to develop the emotional intelligence of themselves as leaders and of their teams." Grech coaches mid to senior leaders to enhance their ability to connect, in- fluence, and inspire others. He helps clients boost leadership and interper- sonal skills and grow their confidence by supporting them through coach- ing. As a coach, Karl is a sounding board, facilitator, awareness-raiser, and supporter. During a coaching session, he works on developing action plans as well as follow-through committed ac- tions. His mission is to create positive change by helping others seek the best in themselves. When he is not working, he enjoys spending time with his wife and kids, circuit training and embracing traffic as an opportunity to listen to podcasts. Grech is an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) with the Internation- al Coaching Federation (ICF). He is trained in PRISM brain-mapping & Genos Emotional Intelligence tools as well as the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methodology. He graduated with a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in Management Consulting with the Grenoble Graduate School of Business and achieved a Diploma in Coaching & Mentoring; a diploma in General Management, Hospitality Studies. He has recently completed a practical programme in the science of wellbeing. For more information about this event, which is free of charge, please contact Carmel Bonello on carmel- bonello2020@outlook.com, David Bullock at david.malta.bni@gmail. com or Viviana Premazzi at viviana@ gmdmalta.com #bnimalta #network- ing #business #malta Leading more effectively - six actionable steps Karl Grech

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