The MGA Board (as per Article 14 of the Lotteries and different Games Act and after discussion with the Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation, Hon. Silvio Schembri) has delegated Heathcliff Farrugia as the new Chief Executive Officer of the MGA with impact from 24 April 2018. Heathcliff Farrugia succeeds Joseph Cuschieri who recently was named Chief Executive Officer of the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA).
Mr Farrugia holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Leicester, UK, and worked in business administration, operational efficiencies, key arranging, and direction. All through his expertise, he held different senior official positions both inside the private and people in general part. In 2014, Mr Farrugia joined the Gaming Authority in the part of Chief Operations Officer (COO), and was significant in the change procedure which the Authority experienced. He held this situation for a long time until his arrangement as Chief Regulatory Officer in 2016. In this part he was in charge of all the administrative exercises of the Authority with particular spotlight on Regulatory Supervision, Authorisations, Compliance and Player Support.
In the meantime, he was additionally an individual from the Supervisory Council, and co-led the Fit and Proper Committee, endowed with the appraisal of the fit and respectability of people and organizations applying for a MGA permit. Mr Farrugia was a board individual from the Gaming Regulators European Forum (GREF), where he is presently a part and is likewise an individual from the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) and the International Association of Gaming Advisors (IAGA).
Preceding joining the MGA, Mr Farrugia spent the biggest piece of his vocation in the telecoms business, particularly with Vodafone Malta, where he possessed different administrative positions. In 2013, he was delegated Customer Value Management (CVM) Manager for Vodafone Italy in Milan where he was in charge of the general arranging and methodology inside the Consumer Department.