DIGITAL MALTA
CONFERENCE

KEY SPEAKERS

Silvio Schembri – Minister for the Economy, Enterprise and Strategic Projects

Kenneth Brincat is the CEO of the Malta Digital Innovation Authority. With twenty years of experience in management and digital transformation, Kenneth is spearheading MDIA 2.0: A driving force in Malta’s digital landscape. Given the importance of the digital sector in the Maltese economy, his primary role is to ensure its sustained growth by maintaining technical security within the market, and by responding creatively to evolving business models. He is catalysing the national agenda for responsible and human-centric development of artificial intelligence (AI) and the enabling of cybersecurity across industry. Under Kenneth’s leadership the Authority adopted a collaborative approach enabling policymakers, industry experts, and academia to synergize to ensure the optimal and safe uptake of emerging technologies. Kenneth has demonstrated exceptional strategic planning and management skills, successfully spearheading a three-year strategic plan that has advanced Malta’s position in digital innovation. With over 23 years of management experience, Mr. Brincat brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his current role. He holds a Master of Science degree in HR and Training and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration.

Wayne Grixti is the Chief Executive Officer at Tech.mt and Chairman of the MDIA. Prior to his current roles, Wayne was the Chief Technology Officer at Air Malta, in which he spearheaded the airline’s digital transformation and modernisation initiatives. Formerly, he was the Chief Technology Officer at the Malta Digital Innovation Authority, where he supervised the Technology Department and the world’s first National Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence certification programmes. Wayne also chaired the Malta.AI Taskforce in 2019, that developed the Strategy and Vision for Artificial Intelligence in Malta 2030 and the ethical AI framework for Malta, Towards Trustworthy AI. Wayne served as a Government Advisor on the Malta Blockchain Taskforce throughout 2018. He has also worked at the Malta Information Technology Agency for over 17 years, directing high-profile ICT projects in business architecture, consulting, project management, and EU financing. Wayne participated in a number of expert group meetings organised by the European Commission and was an active member of the European Blockchain Partnership.

Gavril Flores serves as the Chief Officer at the Malta Digital Innovation Authority (MDIA), spearheading Malta’s execution of the AI Strategy and Vision, while also shaping policies and ensuring effective governance across all functions of the Authority. With fifteen years of experience regulating various industries, Gavril has led national projects focusing on consumer protection and empowerment, regulatory optimization, product safety and capacity building. He represents Malta in various international fora, where he advocates for forward-thinking policies and cultivates collaborations across borders. Within the MDIA, he drives business development efforts, oversees the formulation of recognition frameworks, and ensures the integrity of regulatory structures. He holds the position of Senior Visiting Lecturer at the University of Malta and is a certified ISO lead auditor.

Camille Pepos was appointed as Head of FinTech Supervision in March 2024 after joining the MFSA in 2020 following the creation of this same function within the Authority. Since joining, he has developed and implemented authorisation and supervisory practices in the field of crypto assets and actively contributed to positioning MFSA as a pioneer in FinTech supervision. Camille represents the MFSA within various Committees of the European Supervisory Authorities and is currently involved in a number of European network groups related to crypto assets. In his capacity as Secretary of the MFSA’s Authorisation Forum and Chair of the MFSA’s Supervisory Forum he has gained extensive knowledge in regulation, supervision and enforcement through his contribution to the implementation of a number of strategic projects within the organisation. Camille has both public and private sector experience in Europe and in the Middle East supporting companies interlinking financial services and technology. At the start of his career he held various roles in private banking, fundraising, fintech advisory and corporate services. An economist by academic background, Camille also possesses two Master degrees in Finance and Wealth Management from the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis and IAE Graduate School of Management.

Prof. Joshua Ellul is an Associate Professor of Computer Science and director of the Centre for Distributed Ledger Technologies at the University of Malta which runs various multidisciplinary educational offerings focused on Blockchain, DLT, cryptocurrencies and smart contracts taking in students having backgrounds in law, business, finance, economics, management, ICT and computer science. His research areas span across interdisciplinary aspects of blockchain and cryptocurrencies as well as on technological underpinnings.

Benji Borg is a dynamic leader in the digital services industry, with a track record of founding and growing innovative digital enterprises. As the CEO of 9H Capital plc, a creative and technology player in Malta, Europe and Saudi Arabia. Benji has steered the company towards significant international ventures, including the acquisition of a Malta-based tech agency & Saudi-based creative agency.

Mr Reuben Portanier is the Advisory and Compliance Partner at GTG. Reuben advises clients in regulated sectors such as fintech and gaming. He is a former gaming regulator and is a regular speaker at international events.

Dr Ian Gauci is the Managing Director of GTG. He advises multiple government bodies and is one of the key figures on technology law matters. He is also an international speaker, lecturer and author.

Dr Gauci is recognised as a Tier 1 leading individual in Fintech and Intellectual Property by Chambers and Partners and Legal 500.

Prof. Alexiei Dingli is an AI expert and Professor at the University of Malta. With over 20 years of experience in the field, he has helped numerous companies successfully implement AI solutions. His work has been recognised as world-class by international experts, and he has received numerous awards from organisations such as the European Space Agency, the World Intellectual Property Organization, and the United Nations. In addition to his considerable peer-reviewed publications, he is also a member of the Malta.AI task force, working to position Malta as a global leader in AI.

With over two decades in the education sector, Keith specialises in digital education and quality assurance. As a visiting lecturer at the Maltese Teacher Trainer Institute (IfE), he delivers modules on Emergent Technology, AI for Education, and Online Education. Aquilina has also served as an Expert on the Innovation Friendly Regulations Advisory Group (IFRAG) for the European Commission since March 2023. In this role, he provides advice on the use of emerging technologies to improve and innovate public sector operations and service provision. He holds a Master’s in Online and Distance Education from the Open University, UK, along with a diploma in computing and a pedagogy degree from the University of Malta.

Graziella joined FinanceMalta in 2023 as Chief Operations Officer and leads the Foundation’s operations. Apart from presenting FinanceMalta, its members, and the Maltese financial services sector to potential investors, she actively promotes Malta as an international financial services centre. She also has a duty to strengthen the relationship with the Foundation’s members to enhance collaboration, thereby adding value and succeeding together. Graziella started her career with Mid-Med Bank in 1997 and subsequently, with HSBC Bank Malta plc in 1999 until she joined FinanceMalta. Graziella has over 27 years of experience in the financial services industry, primarily in retail and business banking, investments and insurance, back-office operations, complaints handling and project management. Graziella holds a Master of Business Administration from the Henley Business School, University of Reading.

Throughout Dr Wasim’s career, he ran several digitisation, growth, diversification and optimisation projects with companies of all sizes in multiple industries and sectors. He also holds several guest positions internationally and sits on the board of trustees for the Social Enterprise Academy Scotland.

Dr. Ian P. Cassar is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Malta within the department of Economics. His main teaching areas include intermediate macroeconomics, applied macroeconomics, environmental economics, mathematical economics and the application of economic theory to distributed ledger technology. His main modelling research interests include input-output analysis and computable general equilibrium modelling. Dr. Cassar is currently a board member of the Center of Distributed Ledger Technologies, at the University of Malta, as well as a member on the Digital Technologies Board of the Government of Malta.

Niamh is the Managing Director of Webbiz, an award-winning global web agency with offices in Malta, Dublin, and Cyprus. Webbiz specialises in branding, custom websites, web app integration, e-commerce, digital marketing and social media for diverse clients in Malta and overseas. Webbiz has extensive experience in the fintech space and has been leading the way at powering businesses with cryptocurrency payment integration. Niamh has played an integral part in creating, developing and launching new brands to market both locally and internationally, specifically in the fintech space. Prior to this, Niamh was the Chief Marketing Officer of Deepverge PLC, a global business in the technology healthcare sector overseeing global marketing and PR initiatives for numerous brands within the portfolio. Before that she spent 13 years at Ogilvy, part of WPP (one of the largest brand and advertising agencies) leading global brands and creating award-winning campaigns.

Pietro Perlo received the M.Sc. degree in general physics from the University of Torino, Turin, Italy, in 1980.,In 1981, he joined Centro Ricerche Fiat, Orbassano, Italy, where he was a Senior Director until 2011. Since 2011, he has been the President and owner of Interactive Fully Electrical VehicleS, Turin.,From 2013 to 2018, he was a member of the European Advisory Board on “Smart, Green and Integrated Transport”.

Conrad is currently the Director of the ICT Institute, since 2015. Mr Conrad Vassallo graduated in 2001 with a Bachelor of Education degree in Computing from the University of Malta. He joined the Institute of ICT that same year as an assistant lecturer making him one of the founding lecturers at MCAST. He was promoted to lecturer in 2004 and also appointed as a Programme Manager responsible for the courses from level 2 till level 4. In 2005, he was appointed as Institute Coordinator and subsequently to BTEC Lead Internal Verifier, responsible for monitoring the quality assurance process of the BTEC courses. In 2010 he furthered his studies with a Master’s degree in Software Engineering and consequently he was promoted to Senior Lecturer where he made part of the lecturing staff teaching the MCAST degree courses. In 2013 he was appointed to Deputy Director at the Institute of ICT where he refrained from his lecturing duties to focus on the administration of the Institute.  Consequently, in 2014 he was appointed as Acting Director. He is currently forming part of the European Commission working group for the innovation and digitalisation of high-quality VET and Higher VET.

JP Fabri is a co-Founding Partner of Seed Consultancy, a purpose-driven boutique business advisory firm. An economist by profession, JP has amassed local and international experience both in the private and public sector. He has served as a director of a number of companies and formed part of the executive team of a London-listed company. JP formed part of the private office of the former Prime Minister of Malta and Governor of the Central Bank of Malta. He also has international policy advisory experience after having advised nine governments on economic development.

JP followed post-graduate studies in economics and political economy at the University of Malta and the London School of Economics. Research interests include blockchain, governance and economic resilience and he has published internationally. He is a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta. He is also Director of Development of The Blockchain & Climate Institute, a global think-tank on the use of blockchain in climate change mitigation.

David is an architect and structural engineer and led built-environment teams in many parts of the world for over 30 years. He currently supports a strong, tangible and committed decarbonized economic transition in Malta through ESG principles that are impactful and exponential, regenerative and distributive. David lectures at the University of Malta, presided over the Malta Chamber of Commerce between 2019 and 2021 and currently chairs the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD) and the Malta ESG Alliance (MESGA).

Jean Michel Azzopardi is a seasoned tech and business professional with over 10 years of experience in blockchain and startups. He is currently a Strategic Advisor at Proofme, a wallet-based app that supports KYC, digital signing, personal data verification, and verified caller ID. He is also an Independent Technology Consultant, offering a broad range of services in areas such as board membership, technical compliance, sales, strategy, and blockchain architecture.

Jean Michel has a proven track record of securing significant funding, pioneering groundbreaking blockchain technology, and building top-performing remote teams. He was the Founder and CEO of Kralanx Cyber Security Malta, a cyber security service provider for the blockchain space, for six years. He also led the APAC Channel at Acunetix where he achieved substantial revenue growth. As a public speaker and content creator, he showcases his passion for the evolving Web3 ecosystem and his vision for a more decentralized and transparent future.

Over 18 years of industry experience in tech and product roles across The US, Africa, South-east Asia, and Europe with organizations such as Booking.com, AppsFlyer, GoJek, Rocket Internet, and National Instruments. Currently Director-Product (Big Data & Machine Learning Platform) with Booking.com

Daniel Thompson-Yvetot is a lifelong Open Source Advocate and the co-founder of Tauri Apps. He currently occupies the seat of Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Tauri Programme, which is the commons-focussed governance body for the greater Tauri community. His work over the past decades has been at the intersections of technology and culture, with a dash of philosophy and heaping portions of compassion. He is the CEO of CrabNebula, a company partnered with Tauri that offers tools to make devs’ lives better. He currently serves as NGI Influencer, spreading news about funding opportunities in Europe. He lives and works in Malta.

Saleem Qureshi, a seasoned entrepreneur, and is in the business of neurosciences. His first step into entrepreneurship was in 2007 at Stanford University when he put together a team of researchers and professors who would assess the skill potential of different brains. This led him to several government projects in collaboration with the World Bank in the area of skill assessment and skill development.

Saleem believes that neurosciences can help us understand how different kids learn. He believes all kids can learn new things, however each child has different concentration levels, and that is why each child will benefit if they have their own learning journey. Saleem’s research on the brain explores how information is consumed, where it is stored, and how it is retrieved by an individual. Saleem is currently based out of Finland, and is heading a venture called Lincoln Method, which focuses on how to help kids learn faster and more effectively.

Roderick joined the Central Bank of Malta back in 1990 where he had an 18-year career, holding various positions in Banking, Statistics and Financial Stability, including a short period working at the ECB in Frankfurt.  In 2008, Roderick moved to the industry where he steered the licensing and setting up of three banks in Malta, both as consultant and also as the leading Executive.  He held various positions in banks in Malta, the latest being CEO and Director at AgriBank till September 2018.  In October 2018, Roderick started a new project as founder and CEO of Laskaris Finance, which managed the application of a banking license and also the setting up process of the proposed bank.  He left Laskaris at the end of 2020 to start Bridge Advice and holds the position of Managing Director.  Roderick is an advisor for the Ministry of Finance and also sits on the Council of the University of Malta.  He chairs the Board of Directors of two Financial Institutions operating from Malta.  Roderick is qualified in Banking and Economics.

Amit is the founder & CEO of Croftz, a Regulatory Technology(RegTech) firm having offices in Malta and London & providing businesses with a cloud based AML & KYC Compliance platform for Digital customer on-boarding, due diligence & lifecycle management. Croftz also offers Id Verification, AML Screening, Risk based Assessment, Monitoring and other business intelligence reports for subject person & entities to businesses in Malta, Europe, UAE, India & UK.

Prior to Croftz, Amit worked in the financial services industry primarily banking for  over 16years as a regulated & approved person with FCA,UK. He is the former Director of Bank J. Safra Sarasin (one of the largest Swiss bank) & Standard Chartered Bank, London. He holds Non-Executive Director  and Board Member position in various organisations. He has extensive knowledge & expertise in  banking, due diligence, compliance, Wealth & Asset Management, Portfolio & Risk management, Trust, corporate structuring & FinTech. Amit holds Masters in e-Business & MBA from Warwick Business School, UK. He is a Chartered Wealth Manager & Fellow at Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI), London.

Founder, Fintech Malta and non-executive director at regulated fintech companies. Peter is well-known in Europe’s fintech community, having established a number of free Fintech networks including Fintech Malta (FintechMalta.com) and Fintech UK (FintechUK.com) – which promote, support and map the indigenous and international fintech ecosystems. Peter is also a non-executive director of a number of global fintech companies in the investment services and payments sectors. He is a regular speaker, chair and master of ceremonies at events and awards.  Peter is a regular contributor to media on Fintech and RegTech (regulatory technology) topics. Peter has also recently established the MiCAReady.com project: MiCAR is the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation.  MiCAR provides an excellent opportunity to leverage Malta’s unique digital asset and blockchain industries.

Peter has previously held senior roles at regulators including the Central Bank of Ireland, the (now) UK Financial Conduct Authority and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. He is qualified as a solicitor in Ireland, the UK and Australia. More about Peter at PeterOakes.com.

Steve Ellul is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a Lecturer at the University of Malta.

Previously, he held key positions at the Bank of Valletta, where he headed the investment management arm of the group. During his tenure he was responsible for both retail and professional investments funds. Steve managed portfolios on institutional clients and HNW individuals with assets invested in the United States, United Kingdom, and the Middle East.

He holds an Honors degree from the University of Malta and a Master’s in Corporate Finance from the European University. Steve is also a Chartered Financial Analyst, recognized with a certificate of excellence from the CFA Institute in Virginia USA.

In recent years, Steve has served as a consultant in enterprise and sustainable development, advancing ESG initiatives in Malta.

He is actively involved in various local and foreign initiatives that are directed towards harnessing the flexible qualities of digital technologies as enablers of digital transformation. Very lately he has been invited at the QS EduDataSummit 2024 in Washington DC as a main speaker and leading expert on AI for education and Industry. Incidentally in the same period he has also been lately elected as a Local Councillor in Marsascala with responsibilities that focus on Education and Digital innovation.

As a researcher he has published several papers in relation to Educational Technology. In 2017 he has been invited and eventually wrote a review on the book by Joseph E Aoun (The provost at the University of Boston): Robot-Proof: Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Ludwig Mallia is a Fintech Expert and Digital Strategist with over 15 years of experience in IT leadership, focusing on the banking and finance sector. He has a comprehensive understanding of the industry’s nuances and has successfully implemented various digital projects. Ludwig has led the implementation of a Direct Digital Bank and a Corporate Challenger Bank. Ludwig has held senior managerial roles at two systematically important banks in Malta. He holds an MSc in Banking Practice and Leadership from The London Institute Banking & Finance , a BCom (Hons.) in Management, and a BSc in Business and Computing from the University of Malta. Ludwig is a Certified SAFe®️ 6 Agilist and Certified SCRUM Product Owner. He has been a featured speaker at several digital transformation conferences in Malta, London and Berlin. Ludwig is currently heading the Agile and Value Streams Delivery at Bank of Valletta with the responsibility of leading the digital transformation within the bank by fostering Agile practices to maximises value delivery.

PROGRAMME