Foster Clark head Charles Busuttil passes away, 66

The head of the Foster Clark food manufacturing company, Charles Busuttil, has passed away in Egypt at the age of 66.

Details of his 30 October passing are so far unknown, and funeral arrangements are still pending.

A widely respected member of the business community and a leader in his field, Busuttil’s stewardship of the Foster Clark brand propelled the food manufacturer onto the global market.

After the death of his brother Frank in 1986, Charles Busuttil led the company into a major investment programme throughout the 1990s until the Busuttil Group finally acquired all the shares of the Foster Clark products held by Unilever.

The company today exports its products to over 70 countries.

In 2007, Busuttil was made a Member of the Order of Merit for his services to Maltese industry. He had also formed part of the board of directors of the Malta External Trade Corporation (METCO).

Foster Clark was set up in Malta in 1967 as a joint venture with Unilever between Charles Busuttil's father Paul, and Brooke Bond of Unilever.

The original company was started by George Foster Clark in 1891 in Kent, the United Kingdom. But in 1965, the company started losing out to the frozen food market, and was sold to Oxo.

In 1967, the original products became the backbone of Malta’s largest food manufacturing company. Paul Busuttil was then a distributor in Malta for Foster Clark products, and encouraged Brooke Bond to set up a joint venture manufacturing concern in Malta. The Busuttils embarked on a series of market visits around the world to discover new markets.

Busuttil leaves to mourn his wife Wendy, and children Natasha, Rebecca, Christian, Sarah and James, and thirteen grandchildren.