The judges of the third edition of the Malta Businesswoman of the Year Awards (MBWYA), organised by HSBC Malta, have been announced. The MBWYA, that are also supported by Farsons Group and Nestlé Malta, recognises successful female business leaders and entrepreneurs.

The awards are once again taking place under the patronage of President George Vella.

This year, the board of judges is made up of Joseph Sammut, HSBC Malta general counsel (chair of the panel); Anne Marie Tabone, chief financial officer of Farsons Group; Derek Vassallo, out-of-home channel manager and executive committee member at Nestlé Malta; Marisa Xuereb, president of The Malta Chamber; and Helga Ellul, director at Advise Ltd and president of CORE Platform.

The judges are considering nominations in four categories: Businesswoman of the Year Award, Female Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Sustainability Role Model Award, and Company Award for Excellence in the Promotion of Women in Business.

Sammut said: “Women remain under-represented in leadership positions, despite the well-known fact that diversity has a positive impact on business performance. For this reason, HSBC Malta established the MBWYA to celebrate successful women and hopefully inspire other women to pursue their ambitions and encourage companies to further promote diversity. The judging process has proven to be a challenging one with so many exceptional nominees to consider, but we have all very much enjoyed it.”

The winners of the main award in the previous two editions were Deborah Schembri, who was recognised for her role in growing STM Malta Pension Services Ltd into a major pension provider, and Natalie Briffa Farrugia, chief executive officer at CareMalta Group Ltd, who was recognised for her work in transforming the business into state-of-the-art facilities.

For more information, visit www.mbwya.com.mt.