Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1547581
The architect of a different Deloitte THE Deloitte Malta that Marc Alden will hand over in June 2027 is not the firm he took charge of in January 2020. It offers different things, and in some cases to different people, it is organised differently, and it is run by a new generation of leaders who have largely come up under his ten- ure as Chief Executive Officer. In a wide-ranging interview, Alden talks about his new role at the firm that will see him focus on public sec- tor and government advisory - a ma- jor focus area for the firm in the years ahead, and looks back on a CEO ten- ure that saw some of the most signif- icant changes to the shape and tenor of Deloitte Malta in recent memory. Alden's leadership coincided with what could be described as a genera- tional handover. Several partners who had shaped the firm's earlier chapters had stepped back not long before Alden took over and others were scheduled to retire during his tenure, as a new bench moved into roles and func- tions, some of which had not existed in the same form before. Each of Alden's predecessors built something the firm still depends on, he says, and the credit for the plat- form belongs, in large part, to them. But the change that he was mandat- ed to usher in at Deloitte Malta was not just about personnel; it was also structural. Under Alden, Deloitte moved away from a practice organised around traditional audit and accounts, to- wards a broader professional services advisory firm. The idea, he says, was to develop a Big Four offering that could provide what clients need to grow - giving technology, advisory work and non-traditional services room to build. To accomplish this, the fences be- tween Deloitte Malta's different busi- ness units were "deliberately disman- tled", so that responsibility could run to the client rather than to the func- tion a person happens to sit in. Asked how this was done, Alden points to the new head office as an illustration of that change. Opened in August after three and a half years of work, he says the build- ing translates the firm's new logic in- to a physical space: a central atrium, every floor connected, a deliberate reversal of the siloed layout that once made movement between functions awkward. "This was our strategy and ultimate- ly it was a growth strategy," he says. Traditionally, Deloitte Malta's growth had been driven by volume. "Simply increase the level of output and that was our driver of growth," he says. "Then a time came when we had to be bold, to take a leap and refocus entirely." The refocus arrived alongside events no plan could absorb. First COVID-19 among other unforeseen geo-political shifts landed while the firm was still consolidating. Despite this, growth has been year on year, including through the pan- demic, against a stated ambition to be the fastest growing firm on the island. So what's next? Most chief exec- utives mark the end of a tenure by leaving. But Alden's departure from the CEO's chair at Deloitte Malta was never meant as a farewell: when he formally steps down in six months, he will stay on within the firm's lead- ership in a new role as part of a suc- cession that was planned long before it was announced. He is clear that he is not returning to tax work, where the next generation is stepping up. Instead he takes three roles: a lead on government and the public sector, which the firm intends to grow into a significant practice; work with high profile clients; and executive sponsorship of the internal risk function. What ended his tenure is written in- to the job. The two-term limit exists to force rotation at the top and to return former leaders to client-facing work, carrying that experience with them. Deloitte Malta's partners have now elected Conrad Cassar Torregiani to succeed Alden, beginning a six- month transition. Both Alden and Cassar Torregiani are self-described 'Deloitte lifers'. Cassar Torregiani was part of the core team through the past eight years and, in Alden's description, is heavily invested in what was built. After all, the direction set during Alden's two terms is part of a strate- gy designed to run to 2030, and the task for his successor is to sharpen it in particular areas and elevate client relationships rather than redraw it. The thread through all of it is Malta. Deloitte's local ecosystem is bound to the jurisdiction and to the wider network, and the firm's job, Alden says, is to anticipate where the coun- try is going and support that journey. "We've built something strong. Now we will continue to refine it and inno- vate," Alden says. The internal shorthand is three words: advise, implement, operate. As Malta changes, through succes- sion in its business base, internation- alisation and cross-border trade, that is the proposition he believes the firm brings to the table. THIS IS A PAID COLLABORATION maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 NOVEMBER 2026 Almost eight years after taking the top job, Deloitte Malta's outgoing chief executive officer explains the changes behind the firm's growth, and the new role that keeps him in the building