The MGA Board (in accordance with Article 14 of the Lotteries and other Games Act) has appointed Heathcliff Farrugia as the new chief Executive officer of the MGA with effect from 24 April. Farrugia succeeds Joseph Cuschieri who earlier this month was appointed chief Executive officer of the Malta Financial Services Authority MFSA). Farrugia holds a Master's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Leicester, UK, and is specialised in business management, operational efficiencies, strategic planning, and regulation.

Throughout his professional career, he held various senior executive positions both within the private and the public sector.  In 2014, Farrugia joined the Gaming Authority in the role of chief Operations officer and was pivotal in the transformation process which the Authority underwent. He held this position for two years until his appointment as chief Regulatory officer in 2016. In this role he was responsible for all the regulatory activities of the Authority with specific focus on Regulatory Supervision, Authorisations, Compliance and Player Support.

At the same time, he was also a member of the Supervisory Council and co-chaired the Fit & Proper Committee, entrusted with the assessment of the fit and properness of individuals and companies applying for a MGA licence.

Farrugia was a Board member of the Gaming Regulators European Forum, where he is now a member and is also a member of the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) and the International Association of Gaming Advisors (IAGA).

Prior to joining the MGA, Farrugia spent the largest part of his career in the telecoms industry, specifically with Vodafone Malta, where he occupied various managerial positions. In 2013, he was appointed Customer Value Management manager for Vodafone Italy in Milan where he was responsible for the overall planning and strategy within the Consumer Department.