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4 NEWS 9.6.2022 AI company EBO announces the appointment of Alec Pereira, an IT consultant with more than 27 years of multinational experience, who now joins the company's pre- sales Division. Before joining EBO, Alec was Microsoft's Cloud Solutions Ar- chitect for Western Europe, fo- cusing on the Portuguese market particularly overseeing mission critical workloads, such as SAP and BCDR. Welcoming Mr Pereira, Dr Gege Gatt, CEO of EBO described this latest appointment as another step in EBO's journey to establish itself on the international market and attract foreign talent. Dr Gatt explained how Mr Perei- ra's role within EBO's team will consolidate its Data Science and Operations departments and help the evaluation of business and technical requirements to form robust technology solutions that meet customer needs. "Alec's strong customer-centric approach brings focus to the cen- tral role of solution-engineering at the service of customer strate- gy. His solution architecture skills examine how different elements of business, information, and tech- nology are applied to solve a spe- cific problem. During this process, Alec will oversee all technological risks to ensure that solutions we bring to the market are consistent and develop the value needed," added Dr Gatt. Prior to his position at Microsoft, Alec had worked as a Sales Engi- neer at Veritas Technologies for Western Europe, responsible for data protection and data compli- ance as well as Business Develop- ment Manager for Data Centre & Cloud at Telefónica Brasil, specifi- cally aiming to expand hosting ser- vices and public cloud adoption. Alec earned a BS in Information Technologies from Monroe Col- lege, New York, NY and spent 11 years in the financial sector, gar- nering experience in institutions such as BBVA and HSBC. Former Microsoft Solution Architect joins EBO Deloitte Malta bolsters digital consultancy with key hire Malta Bankers Association appoints Chair and Deputy Chair DELOITTE Digital has appointed Caspian Rabone, a creative director, as the Head of Customer Experience and Design to support ongoing dig- ital transformation and digital prod- uct engagements. Caspian will over- see the creative services output while scaling up the Customer Experience, Marketing and Applied Design team. Caspian has a wealth of internation- al experience having held creative di- rector positions at some of the most respected digital agencies worldwide including Wunderman, Blast Radi- us and Critical Mass in the UK and Canada. His client roster includes top tier global brands like Microsoft, Nokia, GSK, BMW and Apple. Dur- ing his twenty years of leadership, he has grown and nurtured several de- sign departments delivering industry leading work and believes on creating equal and multi-functional teams. He has mentored for the BIMA (Brit- ish Interactive Media Assoc.) and D&AD, as well as having judged and won several awards. Ludwig Micallef, Director at Deloitte Malta and leader of the Deloitte Digital practice locally, be- lieves that this important appoint- ment will allow the firm to take cus- tomer experience and digital strategy to the next level. He explains: "ese are exciting times for Deloitte Digital, as we seek to respond to the growing demand for customer experience support. Caspian will enable Deloitte Digital to combine its core digital and technology capabilities with creative flair and international expertise. Cas- pian's experience, unparalleled expo- sure to global brands and breadth of work, will enable us to provide extra value to clients. As part of Deloitte Central Mediterranean, Deloitte Dig- ital in Malta aims to transform itself into an innovation hub and centre of excellence in this digital space." Marc Alden CEO for Deloitte Mal- ta, believes that digitalisation in its broadest sense will be at heart of everything around us and that Deloitte Digital will remain at the forefront when it comes to supporting clients through this transformation process. "We recognise that our loca- tion as one of Europe's newest tech- nology innovation hubs and the re- cent EU funding for digital initiatives creates opportunities for Deloitte Malta. We are well positioned for the renewed focus on companies' digital transformation and digital customer touch points. Deloitte Digital is play- ing a key role providing end-to-end digital solutions for its clients and our wider consulting practice. is requires experienced leaders to de- liver quality and manage the growth." APS Bank plc CEO Marcel Cassar has been elected Chair of the Malta Bank- ers' Association (MBA) for the coming term of office. His appointment was announced fol- lowing the association's annual general meeting held on the 1 June 2022. Hen- ry Schmeltzer, Director of Commercial Strategy and Head of Legal at MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc was elected Deputy Chair for the same period. Outgoing Chair Rick Hunkin, CEO of Bank of Valletta plc said that the association agreed that Marcel Cas- sar's extensive industry experience and long-standing presence on the MBA Board made him an ideal candidate to continue to steer the association through these challenging and rapidly changing times. On his part Cassar thanked Rick Hunkin for his support and stewardship of the MBA over the past two years. He also thanked outgoing Deputy Chair Joseph Said, CEO Lombard Bank Mal- ta plc, and the rest of the association's members for their support and confi- dence in him. In his capacity as MBA Chair, Cas- sar will also represent the association on the Board of the European Banking Federation (EBF), of which the MBA is a full member. e EBF unites 32 national banking associations in Europe that represent some 3,500 banks employing about 2.6 million people and extending over Eur23 trillion in lending to the Europe- an economy. It is actively engaged in advocacy and the support of policies that foster eco- nomic growth and jobs. Caspian Rabone Marcel Cassar (left) and Henry Schmeltzer

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