Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1517660
NEWS 12 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 20 MARCH 2024 THE Malta Stock Exchange last week hosted a Governance, Risk, Compliance (GRC) and ESG Week that culminated in a two- day conference at Hilton Malta. No fewer than 26 foreign speakers from across the globe and over 30 local speakers par- ticipated in a varied programme across the two days, includ- ing keynote addresses, fireside chats, moderated sessions and breakouts. MSE Chairman Joseph Portel- li in his welcome address said: "Imagine a world where your company crushes it, while simul- taneously doing its share to save the planet and being a champion for social good. Well, that's the power of GRC and ESG working together in harmony. "This is the backdrop to our motivation for organising this conference. We have an oppor- tunity at this summit to spread the word that Malta takes GRC and ESG seriously enough; that the local Stock Exchange organ- ises a lavish annual summit." This he added shows that ef- fective GRC is alive and well in Malta. He pointed out that since 2015 the number of list- ings on the MSE had increased by almost 90% – this as listings around the world are decreasing. "I believe we need to rethink the ethos that more bureaucra- cy makes better governance and we must remain vigilant against a tendency to get pedantic and to allow bureaucracy, excessive paperwork and red tape to per- meate corporate and regulato- ry mindsets," Mr Portelli said, concluding by thanking all those who contributed to the event, including the 26 sponsors with- out whom the conference would not have been possible. No fewer than six keynote speakers addressed the confer- ence over the two days: Finance Minister Clyde Caruana, Minis- ter for the Environment, Energy and the Regeneration of Grand Harbour Miriam Dalli, PwC UK Partner Sandeep Agraw- al, Citigroup Chief Adminis- trative Officer, Global Head of Risk & Controls, Ruth Bailey, K&L Gates Partner Michael E. Ruck and Microsoft's Legal and Government Affairs Lead for Southeast Europe, covering 14 countries including Malta, Nick Tsilas. The programme also alternated moderated sessions with fireside chats, apart from two groups of breakout sessions enabling par- ticipants to attend sessions that were of interest to them. The topics of the moderated sessions were: • ESG Metrics Transparen- cy and Reporting; • AI and GRC, The Inter- section of Technology and Regulation; • The Future of Regulatory Compliance; • The Role of Risk Culture in Effective Enterprise Risk Management; • Attributes of an Effective Board of Directors; • Protecting your Organisa- tion from Fraud and Cor- ruption; • Building a Cyber Security Culture – Strategies for Embedding Security in an Organisational Culture; and • AML Risk Assessment – Identifying and Mitigating Money Laundering Risks. Fireside chats were held with Summer K. Mersinger, Commissioner, United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission; Martin Moloney, Secretary General, Interna- tional Organisation of Secu- rities Commissions; Nandini Sukumar, Chief Executive Of- ficer, The World Federation of Exchanges; Paul Manduca, Chairman, St James's Place; Ivan Filletti, Chief Executive Officer, GamingMalta; Joseph Attard, Director of Internation- al Compliance, Entain; Rodrigo Buenaventura, Chairman, Span- ish National Securities Market Commission; Hong Fang, Pres- ident, OKX; and Anthony Mill- er, Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative, United Nations. The topics of the eight break- out sessions over the two days were: • Implementing an ESG Strategy Within Your Company; • Risk Management: The Es- sential Guide to Protecting Your Business; • AML Compliance and Trends in the Digital Age; • Implementing DORA to mitigate ICT Risk; • Managing GDPR and Reg- ulatory Compliance; • The Future of Gaming: Trends, Regulation and Technology; • The Human Factor in GRC: Labour Relations, Culture and Ethics; and • The Progress and Chal- lenges of the Capital Mar- kets Union. The summit was complement- ed with a number of social events and participants were eligible to CPE credits for their attendance. Malta Stock Exchange hosts Governance, Risk, Compliance (GRC) and ESG Week Joseph Portelli, executive chairman of the Malta Stock Exchange, addressing the conference Panel discussion