Andrew Ganado
Executive Director
Andrew Ganado graduated with honours, from the London School of Economics, in Economics and Finance in 1989. Immediately thereafter, he joined the Gasan Group of Companies, working in various parts of the family group of companies, but primarily focusing on the business development, commercial centres and retail sectors of the group. Mr Ganado was involved in the setting up and operation of two international brands in Malta, these being Standa and Coin. In 1994, he negotiated the establishment of the Monsoon and Accessorize brands in Malta, as one of the first international franchise partners for these brands, retaining a minority stake in this operation. With a solid background in retail and business development, and his working relationship with Monsoon Accessorize, in 2002 Andrew Ganado was offered the franchisee rights for these brands in the north of Italy and subsequently, in 2005 for Austria. The ALDO® franchise for Italy and Austria was obtained in 2010; the ALDO® store network was developed before being sold to the ALDO® Group. Over the years, Andrew Ganado as co-owner and chief executive office, together with Christian Ganado, has successfully managed a number of global leading brands including ALDO® Shoes, Accessorize, Monsoon, 3INA Cosmetics and CKU in a number of territories, securing the opening of over 75 stores in various territories. Over this period Mr Ganado has managed to profit both out of the retail side of the business as well as the real estate. Andrew Ganado also has a number of other directorships on the boards of leading Maltese companies involved in the retail and property businesses.
Christian Ganado
Director
Christian Ganado has been an active retailer in the Italian, Maltese and Austrian markets for over 15 years. After graduating from the University of Pavia, Christian Ganado together with Andrew Ganado successfully oversaw the expansion of a retail business group in Italy and Austria, successfully acquiring the franchise rights of a number of international brands including ALDO®, Accessorize, Monsoon, 3INA and CKU. Christian and his brother Andrew, opened over 75 stores in the north of Italy and in Austria, having a strong focus on the real estate aspect of the business. With over 20 years of experience, Christian Ganado has managed to establish himself in international markets as a successful retail operator who strives for excellence. Since 2016 Christian Ganado has refocused his energies on a number of digital projects including social and metropolitan Wi-Fi. Mr Ganado also sits on the boards of directors of a number of Maltese companies involved in the retail, property and telecommunications sectors. Christian Ganado is also an angel investor and co-founder of a number of start-up digital companies.
Stanley Portelli
Director
Dr Stanley Portelli is a lawyer by profession and is a partner at a Maltese law firm. He obtained his doctorate in law from the University of Malta in 1995. In 1993 he was elected by popular vote in his district to serve as a local councillor for a period of four years. From 1994 to 2001, Dr. Portelli was employed with the Financial Services Unit at Coopers & Lybrand and eventually PricewaterhouseCoopers. He was a director of Malta Investment Management Co Ltd (MIMCOL) and Malta Government Investments Ltd between 2004 and 2008. In 2007 he was appointed member of the Port Workers Board representing Malta Freeport Terminals, and in 2008 was appointed member of the Board of the Lotteries and Gaming Authority, a post he held until April 2013. Between 2001 and 2009 he also held the position of executive Director for Human Resources, Legal and Corporate Affairs as well as Company Secretary at Malta Freeport Terminals Ltd. and Freeport Terminal (Malta) plc, where he was also on the Board of Directors from 1999 to 2004. Until March 2013 he was the Chief Executive Officer of the Authority for Transport in Malta (Transport Malta), having overseen the amalgamation in 2010 of what were previously three distinct transport regulatory entities. Dr Portelli currently also serves as a non-executive director on a number of Maltese companies involved in various cross-border and overseas activities, as well as listed and regulated entities. He is also a consultant to a number of family-owned businesses. He is a member of the Chamber of Advocates and the Institute of Financial Services Practitioners.
Alan Frendo Jones
Director
Alan Frendo Jones has been practising as a warranted Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Auditor since 2004, following his attainment of a Bachelor of Accountancy (Honours) degree from the University of Malta in 2001. He has since been a member of the Malta Institute of Accountants (MIA), currently also serving as a member of the PAIB advisory group at the MIA. He also qualified in 2007 as a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and became a member of the global network of Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA). Alan began his career at Ernst & Young, in the firm’s audit and assurance department, working on various local and international assignments, including Dublin and the UK. In 2005, Alan joined Simonds Farsons Cisk plc and held the role of Finance Manager for a subsidiary company, Farsons Sales and Marketing Ltd. His role focused on management accounting, budgeting and forecasting and was also involved in centralising of the group’s logistics, including its new multimillion logistics centre and bottling plant. In 2008, Alan joined the Retail Holdings Group, occupying the position of Group Financial Controller, a position which he still occupies at present. Since 2015 he has been serving as a director on the boards of a number of entities within the group. The group focuses on two core lines of business in the field of retail clothing, namely the Malta based operation and the international retail operation. The former operation has been managing international retail clothing brands, including the Marks & Spencer (M&S) franchise, for the past 60 years. The international operation is a joint venture between HB Group, a Libyan conglomerate and other Maltese interests, managed via Retail International Group (RIG). RIG holds retail clothing franchise rights for reputable international brands such as M&S, Debenhams, Next, ALDO®, Benetton and Mango for the Maghreb North African region, operating over 30 international stores. Alan also has a financial consultative role in MMGH Ltd and Joseph Arrigo & Sons Ltd. The group is involved in grain handling, animal feed, warehousing and investments in other retail ventures namely RIG and the Melite Group.
Jacqueline Briffa
Director
Jacqueline (also known as Jackie) Briffa graduated with a Bachelor of Accountancy (Honours) degree from the University of Malta in 1989 and joined Manduca, Mercieca & Co (later, Deloitte Malta), working on various high-profile audit assignments, including those relating to Bank of Valletta plc and Merrill Lynch Bank London. She obtained a warrant to practice as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in 1990 and an Auditing Practising Certificate in 1992. During her time at Deloitte Malta, Jackie occupied other roles including in indirect tax advisory, corporate and financial advisory services. She also led Deloitte Malta’s regulatory and compliance function and served as the firm’s compliance director and money laundering reporting officer between 2003 and 2005.
Jackie was admitted as an associate member of the Malta Institute of Taxation in 1995, as an associate member of the Malta Institute of Financial Services Practitioners and as a fellow member of the Malta Institute of Accountants in 2000. During 2004 and 2005, she served as a member of the Anti-Money Laundering ad hoc Committee of the Malta Institute of Accountants.
Jackie joined the Alf. Mizzi & Sons Group in March 2005 and occupies the post of Executive Director and Chief Administrative Officer of Alf. Mizzi & Sons Ltd. She served as company secretary of a number of companies forming part of the group until 2014 and was a member of the Expenditure Monitoring Board of Alf. Mizzi & Sons (Marketing) Ltd until 2009. She is currently a member of the Internal Audit Committee and of the Finance and Treasury Committee of Alf. Mizzi & Sons Group. She also serves as a non-executive director on the boards of a number of companies forming part of the Alf. Mizzi & Sons Group and a number of associated and related companies thereof.