Former Labour Party president Mario Vella appointed chairman for Malta Enterprise

Former Labour Party president Mario Vella has been appointed chairperson of Malta Enterprise, the government's investment promotion arm.

Vella lectured in foreign direct investment and development at the University of Urbino, Italy, and was formerly chief executive officer of the Malta Development Corporation, predecessor to Malta Enterprise, and in the private sphere the director of the foreign direct investment consulting services at Grant Thornton.

The rest of the Malta Enteprise board will be composed of Toly Products chief financial officer William Wait as deputy chairperson, and directors Anton Borg (Chamber of Commerce deputy president), Michael Grech, Bortex managing director Peter Borg, David Marinelli, Victor Carachi (General Workers Union president), clothing franchise owner Marlene Seychell - dubbed by Labour media as one of its electoral 'switchers' - and David Curmi (CEO at MSV Life) as representative from the Chamber of Commerce. The GRTU has yet to appoint its representative.

The new chairman of the Malta Industrial Parks corporation will be Tony Zahra, president of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, Joshua Zammit - formerly MEA president and now part of the Air Malta management team, as well as having served as an advisor to Joseph Muscat during the electoral campaign; former One TV chairman Michael Vella Haber, Anita Mangion (business development manager at the Demajo Group's Exigy Ltd), and Jeremy Dalli.