The Economic Update’s Top Entrepreneur Award winners were announced during a lavish Gala ceremony held at the Grand Hotel Excelsior Hotel on Friday 4th May, with Michael Bonello being recognised as the overall winner having received the highest number of votes. The event was organised by Network Publications and sponsored by Bank of Valletta.
The evening witnessed some of Malta’s finest business people competing for one coveted title, The Economic Update’s Top Entrepreneur Award 2012. The project spanned over five months, aiming to publically acknowledge the vital contributions made by companies and individuals to our economy at both a local and international level.
The evening, which was accompanied by the soothing tunes of Kiko and Sandrina, welcomed some 400 guests to a bespoke networking event, followed by a Gala Dinner where awards were presented to a winner from each category, depending on their years in business, as well as an overall winner for the year.
Voting was carried out online throughout the course of this project and carried 50 percent of the total votes. The other 50 percent was attributed through our esteemed panel of judges, namely Dr. Sandra Sladden, Chairperson at ETC; Mr. Tancred Tabone, President of the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Mr. Joseph Farrugia, Director General of the Malta Employer’s Association.
Contestants were judged on strategy, innovation, ethics, influence, and entrepreneurship. Awards were presented by John Formosa, Managing Director at Network Publications and Charles Borg, CEO at Bank of Valletta, who were also the main sponsors of this event, which was the culmination of the BOV B2B Networking event comprising three seminars and networking evenings.
Below are the top 5 rankings for each category:
Category A – 1 to 14 years in business:
Mike Bonello – RE/MAX Alliance, MB Investments
Dr. Pierre Vassallo – Da Vinci Hospital
John Schembri – Shield Consultants
Diane Izzo – Dizz Ltd
Thomas Xerri – Xerri’s Garden Centre
Category B – 15 to 20 years in business:
Rachel Vella – ROCS Group
Alex Scicluna – Jubilee Group of Companies
Adrian J Mizzi – Unique Fashion Studios
Kevin Buttigieg – RE/MAX Malta
Maria Bugeja – St. James Hospital
Category C – 20+ years in business:
Maurice Mizzi – Mizzi Organisation
Angelo Xuereb – AX Holdings
Ray Abela - TCTC
Mariella Mizzi – The Foto Grafer Studios
Charles Camilleri – CG Camilleri Group of Companies
Overall Top Entrepreneur Award
Michael Bonello – RE/MAX Alliance, MB Investments.
The event, which honoured individuals and organisations that have demonstrated the core values of business, excellence, and offered substantial contributions to our economy, was eagerly welcomed by the business community and proved itself to be an outstanding success – an event which will definitely be repeated next year.
A special note of thanks goes to Bank of Valletta, our panel of judges and our distinguished guests.