EY global has appointed Ronald Attard, as leader of Transaction Advisory Services in Central and South East Europe. CSE is a grouping of 21 countries including a number of significant economies.

In his role Ronald will be a member of Central and South East Europe Executive Committee and a member of Europe Middle East India and Africa Transaction Advisory Services Executive Committee. Ronald will also be a member of Global Managed Services Board.

Although having direct responsibility for 21 countries in Central and South East Europe means that he will be travelling extensively, Ronald will retain his roles of Malta's managing partner and leader for TAS for the South cluster of countries.

Ronald joined EY in 2000 when the firm was established in Malta. Originally an audit partner, he has led the team in building the successful Malta TAS and Advisory practices from scratch. In recent years, he has further established new service offerings, including economic advisory, EU advisory, financial crime and infrastructure support.

Over the years he has overseen major transaction support engagements. In Malta, he acts as client serving partner for larger institutions as well as family businesses. In addition, he has also been a senior visiting lecturer at the University of Malta for almost 20 years.

Over the last few years EY Malta has made great strides forward on all fronts - expanding its private sector portfolio, diversifying its offer, particularly with the opening of the Managed Services arm, and recruiting the best minds in the business, both locally and from abroad.

ommenting on the appointment, Jacek Kędzior, Central and Southeast Europe Managing Partner said: "I am confident that Ronald will bring his strong business acumen and holistic views on our clients' and team's needs to his leadership of CSE TAS."

Speaking of the continental ramifications of this appointment, Ronald said: "This will put me in close and regular contact with key EY figures in Europe, the Middle East, India, Africa and indeed, in the case of Managed Services, the entire globe. And obviously, with all their clients and institutional networks in the respective continents."

"I don't see this appointment as a purely personal achievement. It opens up a whole new vista of opportunities for our country, of ways to continue helping Malta punch above its weight. Just as EU membership helped us to get to where we are today, these global contacts can take us to economic and financial territories we never explored before."

Turning to the implications for EY Malta, Ronald added: "Given the strength of our leadership team I am very confident that, my new responsibilities notwithstanding, we are well-placed to strengthen our position in the local market. Over the last years we have considerably nurtured and expanded our top echelons. This year, for instance, we have welcomed Shawn Falzon as a Partner and Chris Meilak as an

Executive Director. Such promotions reflect the great wealth of talent we have at EY Malta and our confidence in the firm's future growth. Looking ahead, such promotions will feature even more frequently as the firm will remain on course towards more ambitious horizons."

Ronald is married to Daniela and they have four sons - Nicholas (10), Timothy (8), Jack (4) and Sebastian (3).