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7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 APRIL 2026 COMMERCIAL EY Malta strengthens EY-Parthenon and consulting leadership EY Malta is pleased to announce the expansion of its EY-Parthe- non and Consulting leadership team, further reinforcing our commitment to supporting or- ganisations in Malta as they pur- sue transformation, innovation, and sustainable growth. COMMENTING on the ap- pointments, Ronald Attard, Country Managing Partner for Malta and Managing Partner for Cyprus, said: "We are delighted to welcome Curt Gauci and An- tonis Rouvas as Partners, and Ar- thur Azzopardi as Director, join- ing the Malta leadership team and strengthening the broader Malta– Cyprus consulting network. George Tziortzis will lead the combined EY-Parthenon and Consulting offering and ensure we continue bringing the best of EY to our clients, supported by the current leadership team." This strengthened leadership team underscores EY Malta's commitment to delivering high quality, technology enabled con- sulting services grounded in deep sector expertise. Through en- hanced collaboration with our colleagues in Cyprus, we will continue to provide clients with a seamless, unified experience across both geographies, leverag- ing shared capabilities, regional insights, and a world class team. Their addition brings the total number of EY-Parthenon and Consulting Partners across Mal- ta and Cyprus to 17 and over 300 professionals. About Our New Partners and Director Curt Gauci Curt brings over 25 years of ex- perience in the technology sector, specialising in business solu- tions, digital transformation, and cloud enabled innovation. He has a strong track record of helping organisations adopt modern technologies and methodologies that accelerate transformation and maximise return on investment. Antonis Rouvas Antonis is an experienced fi- nancial services leader with a career spanning senior banking and advisory roles. As former Chief Financial Officer and In- terim CEO at Hellenic Bank, he brings deep expertise in regula- tory strategy, capital planning, and large scale transformation. Arthur Azzopardi Arthur is a seasoned transfor- mation leader with more than 25 years' experience delivering strategic, cultural, and tech- nological change across listed companies and national insti- tutions. He has led major business repositioning initiatives, com- mercial turnarounds, key in- dustry partnerships, and high performing teams. His exper- tise spans strategy, operations, finance, and technology, with a strong focus on leadership, resilience building, and long term value creation. George Tziotzis George is a seasoned profes- sional with close to 30 years of experience in the professional services and banking sector. He has advised organisations on complex regulatory, gov- ernance and transformation matters across multiple Euro- pean markets. His experience spans bank- ing, financial services, and cross border operations. George works closely with senior leadership teams to sup- port strategic decision making and value creation. He is recognised for his an- alytical rigour, structured ap- proach, and sound judgment. EY Malta looks forward to sharing further updates as the EY-Parthenon and Consulting practices continue to grow— supported by enhanced col- laboration across all EY offices and a commitment to deliver- ing exceptional value to clients across the region. Left to right: Antonis Rouvas, Arthur Azzopardi and Curt Gauci FinanceMalta's first ever public speaking masterclass promotes stronger financial voice "THE financial services industry is increasingly defined by preci- sion, regulation and numbers, and communication is often treated as a secondary skill. Our forthcoming initiative, the first of its kind, will highlight how the ability to speak clearly, confidently and persuasively can be a strategic asset to profes- sional success in finance." This was stated by Bernice Butt- igieg, Chief Strategy Officer at Fi- nanceMalta, ahead of a two-day Public Speaking Masterclass to be held on 21–22 April at Trident Park. The event aims to equip finance pro- fessionals with essential communi- cation tools. Buttigieg explained how this initi- ative reflects a broader shift within financial services where investor presentations and media scrutiny, continue to intensify. "Firms no longer compete only on performance but also on narrative, where the ability to articulate com- plex ideas with clarity is a strategic asset. This masterclass will address this growing gap across the industry: how technical expertise can be effec- tively communicated," she said. Delivered by experienced commu- nication and performance coach- es, the programme offers a prac- tical, immersive experience, with live exercises simulating real-world scenarios such as investor pitches, boardroom presentations and media interactions, focusing on message clarity, storytelling and confident delivery. Buttigieg added that the initia- tive forms part of FinanceMalta's broader strategy to expand beyond international promotion into ca- pacity-building, while strengthening how Malta-based professionals en- gage with global audiences. She noted FinanceMalta's support of members' participation in over- seas events and roadshows to pro- mote Malta as a leading financial services centre, where the ability to communicate complex propositions succinctly and convincingly is essen- tial. For full programme details and registration visit https://finance- malta.org/events Why protecting your design is important GOOD design can increase your product's reach in the marketplace and make it more at- tractive to customers. This is because the aes- thetic power of design permeates many aspects of your lives and is applied to a wide variety of products: from packaging to books and maga- zines, electrical goods, electronics, jewellery, foodstuffs and textiles. A novel design is one of the key factors that at- tract us to a product and in the end leads us to prefer one product to another. It therefore goes without saying that design is one of the most im- portant aspects in selling the product, improv- ing it and getting a return on your investment. Developing a new design requires investing both time and money so it is important that you pro- tect the design against anyone else copying it. Because a design is considered an important and valuable business asset it can be traded or used as collateral, it rewards your creative effort and acts as your signature. Design registration gives you, as the owner, the exclusive right to exploit that design in Malta and Europe. As the owner of a registered design you have the right to prevent third parties from making, selling, importing, exporting or using articles in which the design is incorporated or to which it is ap- plied. Obtaining protection of your design is a prac- tical way to define and protect your innovation. You can submit an application for the protec- tion of your design in Malta on https://ips.gov. mt/. For further information on how to protect and register your design in Malta, visit the Industrial Property Registrations Directorate (IPRD) sec- tion on the Commerce Department website at https://commerce.gov.mt or speak to Business 1st. Should you be interested in protecting and reg- istering your design in the European Union, you may visit the European Union Intellectual Prop- erty Office (EUIPO) at https://euipo.europa.eu. Protecting and registering your design is an important factor towards making your business successful.