Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1513668
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 DECEMBER 2023 8 COMMERCIAL Vassallo Group holds Annual Chairperson's Lunch VASSALLO Group held its annual Chairperson's Lunch in December at the Archbish- op's Curia Refectory in Floria- na. Delighted to have Mr. Neil Agius, world record-holder Maltese swimmer and for- mer Olympian, as this year's special guest joining group shareholders, directors, busi- ness partners, and bankers. During his speech, Neil Agi- us spoke about his Wave of Change message, "All of you here are pioneers, leaders in your industry, having the power of the snowball effect, how you live a more sustaina- ble life and having a more sus- tainable business. You have that power to be the leaders." Vassallo Group Chairper- son, Ms. Briffa Farrugia al- so addressed the esteemed guests, "Leveraging and build- ing on the Group's market position, strength, expertise, reputation, and credibility as a dynamic family business con- tinues to be our collective re- sponsibility. We will continue to harness our financial stabil- ity and governance structures, ensuring discipline, rigor and accountability in all our spheres of operation. Improv- ing the Group's key financial metrics remains imperative". Group CEO Pio Vassallo presented Neil Agius with a donation towards his 'Wave of Change' campaign on be- half of Vassallo Group. Following a lavish lunch, all guests were presented with one of this year's publications by Kite Group 'Exposure, Fragmented Sculptures of an Island Coast', by Alex Attard. As per tradition the group al- so launched its annual publi- cation "Arkati". Vassallo Group operates in a number of industrusies such as Construction, Health and Social Care, Property Man- agement, Catering & Hospi- tality, Energy, and Education. New senior management appointments at APS Bank APS Bank announces two senior man- agement appointments as from 1 No- vember 2023, to fill newly-created posi- tions as recently approved by the Board of Directors. CHRISTINE Tabone is Head of Enterprise Risk Management. She joined the Bank in 2011 and has served in successively senior risk management roles, including as secre- tary of the Risk Committee since 2016. As Head of ERM, Christine oversees various risk-related activities such as internal cap- ital and liquidity assessments, the Bank's recovery and resolution framework, pro- viding guidance to business functions and monitoring compliance with a large dash- board of risk indicators and the Board-ap- proved risk appetite. Christine is a Master in Accountancy from the University of Malta, a graduate of the Institute of Risk Management, London and holds its Inter- national Diploma in Risk Management, and a member of the Malta Institute of Accountants. Matthew Swain is the Head of Sustaina- bility for APS Group. He joined the Bank in 2022 as Senior ESG Manager after 17 years in the United Kingdom, working for a major global bank and specialising in renewable energy lending for corporates, eventually managing and implementing global sustainability risk policies. At APS Bank Matthew is leading the development of an ESG Strategy Framework across all business lines and setting the Bank's me- dium-term ESG commitments. His remit will then expand to a wider sustainability strategy, encompassing the UN Sustaina- ble Development Goals (SDGs) as well as overall responsibility for Emissions Ac- counting and ESG reporting. Matthew holds a Master of Science in Economics and Policy of Energy and the Environment from University College, London. BOV Bowling Junior Champions announced MIGUEL Caruana and Ruslana Grima are the new BOV Bowling U23 Champions. Nicolai Mallia and Karlise Bartolo won the U16 Championships while the U12 cham- pionship went to Mikhail Mallia. The men's under 23 championship was a very close event with the top 3, Miguel Xuereb, Nicholas Muscat and Matthew Magro, all exchanging places on the last day. However, Miguel took a definite lead when he shot a 279 in the penultimate game, and held on to the lead to finish on 3682, with Nicholas 2nd on 3636 and Matthew 3rd with 3567. In the ladies under 23, Karlise Bartolo, who had just won the under 16 ladies' event that finished the day before, came into the last day slightly ahead of Ruslana. The latter, however, fought her way back and ended up taking the win ending with a total score over the 18 games of 3203, 49 pins ahead of Karlise. Mia Bugeja, who finished 2nd in the under 16, claimed 3rd place. The male under 16 championship saw last year's winner Nicolai Mallia repeat the feat as he played 2241 over the 12 games to finish comfortably ahead of his younger brother Mikhail, with Tomas Caruso finish- ing 3rd. As mentioned before, the under 16 ladies championship went to Karlise Bar- tolo, with Mia Bugeja in 2nd and Celianne Micallef in 3rd. The under 12s saw Mikhail Mallia tri- umph with his 1351 over 8 games, ahead of Samuel Caruso, with Yakob Isaac Farrugia coming in 3rd place.