Martin Galea has been unanimously re-elected president of the Malta Federation of Industry. The full FOI council for 2008 is made up of deputy president Helga Ellul; vice-presidents Anthony J Tabone; Anton Borg, Ian J. Mizzi, and Joseph Pace and members Adrian Bajada, Joe Cortis, Chris DeGiorgio, Mario Duca, Martin W. Hignett, Joseph Montebello, Santo S. Portera, Sergio Vella, and William Wait.

Mr Galea is managing director of Joinwell Limited. He has been with the company for 15 years at a time when the furniture industry has undergone a complete restructuring. A Chartered Accountant by profession, he completed his articles with Coopers and Lybrand before joining the local firm. He then spent three years at Gozo Channel as financial controller before launching the Malta Independent as managing director and editor. He has been a part-time lecturer at the University of Malta, as well as for the Malta Institute of Accountants. Mr Galea is a director of Printex Limited and a long term council member of Din l-Art Helwa, where he is executive president, and is the former president of the local Rugby Union.

In November 1995, Mr Galea was elected to the council of the Malta Federation of Industry and was re-elected FOI council member in 1996 and 1997. He was subsequently elected FOI vice president in 1998 and 1999, during which Mr Galea was appointed director of Young Enterprise Malta, representing the federation.

In 2002, Mr Galea was re-elected onto the council of the federation as an FOI council member and after holding the post of vice president for two years, became deputy president of the federation in 2005.

He served the FOI for a number of years on various strategic committees and is now one of the federation’s nominated representatives on the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD). In 2007, Mr Galea was also appointed on the Malta Enterprise Board as the FOI’s representative.