ECCM - Key Persons
Dr. Caroline Bugeja has been admitted to the Bar in Malta in 2016 after she graduated as Doctor of Laws at the University of Malta. Caroline is a versatile lawyer starting her professional career with local law firms mainly focusing on civil and commercial matters. In 2017, she moved to the banking sector when she joined Bank of Valletta plc, before joining ECCM Bank plc in 2021.
Dr. Bugeja practices primarily in financial services law, banking regulatory compliance and commercial law. In 2023, she assumed the position of Head of Legal & Compliance, heading a team of lawyers forming part of the Bank's Legal and Compliance Department. In addition to this role, she was appointed as Company Secretary of the Board of Directors at ECCM Bank plc.
Dr Patrick J Galea was called to the Bar as an Advocate in Malta in 1982. He is a senior member and co-founder of a set of advocates' Chambers in Valletta. He has practised very extensively in litigation. Currently, Dr Galea combines private practice with academic activities. Over the past 32 years, he has worked and widely advised in the areas of financial services, banking and investment funds, intellectual property, urban and environmental planning.
He was also professionally active in the traditional areas of property and contract. Dr Galea has set on the Board of Directors of various companies, including some listed on the Malta Stock Exchange. He was actively involved in the setting up and launching of activities of two Austrian owned Banks in Malta in the early 1990s and has since then been continuously a member of the Board.
Dr Galea is also a lecturer at the University of Malta where he lectures on civil law and financial services. He is also a visiting lecturer at the University of Salzburg.
Job Titles:
- Accountant
- CEO
- Managing Director
Mr Anthony C. Schembri is an accountant with more than 35 years of banking experience. He started his career as a clerk at Bank of Valletta plc and after graduating from the Malta Institute of Accountants he joined Melita Bank International Ltd, an offshore subsidiary of Istituto Bancario San Paulo di Torino, now San Paulo-Imi as assistant accountant.
In March 1995 he joined First International Merchant Bank (FIM Bank), a trade finance bank based in Malta as Head of Finance (then a start-up operation). In December 1996, he joined Raiffeisen Malta Bank (also a start-up operation) plc as General Manager. He became Managing Director on 1 March 2010. Mr Schembri has a Masters' Degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Malta and a degree in German from the Goethe Institute. He joined ECCM Bank on its inception on 01 July 2014.
Job Titles:
- Non - Executive Director
- English Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Adviser
Mr Stanford is an English Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Adviser. After graduating from Trinity College, Cambridge University, with a degree in mathematics, he joined a predecessor firm of Deloitte LLP and became a tax partner in their London office in 1984. After a period between 1996 and 2001 when he was European Tax Partner representing Europe on the Global Tax Committee he returned to the Deloitte London office and retired from the firm in 2007. Mr Stanford now advises families on their business structures and financial affairs.
Mr Matthias Kaindl holds a degree in Business Administration and Management from Babson College in the US. As a student at Babson he specialised in economics and finance where he was selected to manage a $1.1 million endowment fund for Babson College. After graduating from Babson, he completed an internship at Candover Investments plc in London. He is currently a Board Member in various Kronospan companies responsible for general management, sales and marketing, purchasing, accounting, finance and human resources.
Mr. Mendel passed the traineeship program at Bayerische Vereinsbank and graduated as "Bankkaufmann". At the university in Augsburg he specialized in finance, audit , controlling and operation research. After the master degree in economics he joined again Bayerische Vereinsbank and worked in the risk management, corporate banking and corporate finance. After heading the corporate finance division he became responsible for the group risk management.
Before he became a member of the group management board of HVB-Group he joined as CRO the board of Bank Austria. In his function as CEO of Österreichische Volksbank AG from 2008 until June 2019 he was responsible for the restructuring of the banking group.
Beside this he is up to now engaged in several supervisory boards , e.g. chairman of HETA-Asset Resolution AG, Bausparkasse Wüstenrot AG or ÖBAG-investment committee.
Job Titles:
- Non - Executive Director
- Governance, Risk and Regulatory Compliance Specialist
- Independent Non - Executive Director on the Boards
Ms. Dorothy Kim Vella is a governance, risk and regulatory compliance specialist having worked in the professional and financial services sector since 2004. Throughout her career, Ms. Vella occupied various positions of trust within banking and insurance subsidiaries of international groups (notably Raiffeisen Bank International, Renault, Auchan Retail). Among her regulated appointments, she has assumed the positions of Chief Risk Officer, Compliance Officer, Internal Control Officer and responsibility for oversight of the Actuarial Function.
Prior to joining the financial services sector, Ms. Vella managed a team of systems and process assurance specialists at PwC, executing information systems and financial audits, internal control reviews, business analyses and performance improvement engagements.
Today Ms. Vella serves as an independent non-executive director on the boards of other financial services institutions where she plays an active role in Audit and Risk Committees providing steering on governance, risk and compliance matters.
Job Titles:
- Accountant
- Executive Director
Ms. Jessica Fenech is an accountant by profession with more than 11 years of experience in her field. After graduating from the University of Malta, in 2012, she started her professional career as an auditor at the esteemed firm EY Malta Limited, where she specialized in working with global insurance entities. During her time there, she also had a brief stint in London, where she contributed to KYC and customer due diligence efforts for a financial institution.
In 2017, Ms. Fenech embarked on a new chapter in her professional journey by joining Hillwood Limited as a finance manager. Her career continued to flourish, and in 2020, she assumed the role of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at ECCM Bank plc. She was appointed as an Executive Director on 23 March 2023. In addition to her CFO role, Ms. Fenech serves as a non-executive director on the boards of various financial and non-financial services institutions, further contributing her expertise to the industry.