Simon Vaughan Johnson will be relinquishing his post as chief executive officer and executive director of HSBC Bank Malta on April 30 after having served with the HSBC Group for 36 years.
Vaughan Johnson will be replaced as CEO and executive director by Geoffrey Fichte, who will take up these roles on May 1.
Fichte is currently the president and CEO of HSBC Bank Uruguay. He has over 20 years’ experience in financial services across retail, commercial and corporate banking and previously held several senior international positions within the HSBC Group, including head of business banking, HSBC Mexico; senior executive, Corporate Development & Global Strategy, HSBC Group, London; and senior manager international (Asia), Hong Kong. Originally from New York, he holds a bachelor of science degree in economics from Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, the US.
The board of directors expressed their gratitude towards Vaughan Johnson for the dedicated and professional service he has given to the bank since his appointment in 2020.
Fitche is an internationally experienced banker with a proven track record of building businesses and driving performance
HSBC Bank Malta chairman John Bonello said: “I would like to pay tribute to Simon, who arrived in Malta to take up the position of CEO and executive director just before the country went into COVID-19 lockdown. He exhibited great leadership with our response to this unforeseen crisis and he did so with great skill and empathy, always having the safety of our customers and employees at the very forefront of every decision made.
“We are very grateful that during these challenging times, Simon also successfully managed to continue to focus on safe growth and deliver results, and as a consequence our bank is stronger and safer,” he continued.
“I take the opportunity to welcome Geoffrey Fitche to HSBC Malta. He is an internationally experienced banker with a proven track record of building businesses and driving performance. I am confident that his professional background will seamlessly pave the way to the next phase for our bank.”
Fichte said he was honoured for the opportunity to lead HSBC Malta.
“I will endeavour to build on the bank’s successes and look forward to working closely with the board, leadership team and employees as we plan and execute the next phase of the bank’s growth strategy. I am confident that we shall continue to rise to the challenge and deliver for our shareholders, customers, employees and society at large,” he said.
Vaughan Johnson commented: “HSBC is a strong bank that continues to be strategically focused on growing our business safely in Malta and is well positioned to thrive for the long term.
“I am delighted to welcome Geoffrey to lead this next phase. I would like to thank the chairman and the board for their support, my colleagues and employees for their hard work and dedication and our customers and shareholders for the trust they have placed in HSBC.”