Vincent Buhagiar has been appointed managing director of Allied Newspapers Ltd, publishers of The Times and The Sunday Times, and chairman of its subsidiary, Progress Press, while Austin Bencini and Adrian Hillman have been appointed joint managing directors of Progress Press.
Mr Buhagiar succeeds Ronald Agius, who remains a director of Allied Newspapers Ltd and will be taking up the post of consultant to the Allied Group, while Dr Bencini and Mr Hillman succeed Wilfred Asciak, who has retired.
The new appointments were made by shareholders of the two companies during their annual general meeting, held at Le Meridien Phoenicia on Thursday.
The retirement from the board of directors of both companies of Anthony Montanaro, former editor of Il-Berqa (1958-66) and of The Sunday Times (1966-1991), was also announced during the meeting. He was appointed director in 1995.
Mr Montanaro, who joined Il-Berqa in 1942, was a founder-member of the council of the Strickland Foundation, now the major shareholder of Allied Newspapers Ltd, which was set up in 1979.
The other directors - Henry Hornyold-Strickland, Judge Godwin Muscat Azzopardi and Professor Kenneth Wain - have been confirmed.
Dr Edward Saliba, LL.D., was appointed company secretary of both Allied Newspapers and Progress Press.
Mr Buhagiar, 56, joined Allied Newspapers in 1966 as an accounts clerk; he was appointed assistant company secretary in 1980 and has also carried out the duties of personnel manager.
Mr Buhagiar was elected director of Allied Newspapers Ltd and Progress Press Co Ltd in 1991.
Educated at St Albert the Great College, Valletta, he is married to Myriam née Bartolo. They have a daughter, Daniela.
Mr Agius, who is 70, joined Progress Press as manager of its Publications Department in 1962. He was appointed managing director of Allied Newspapers Ltd in 1968, and chairman of Progress Press in 1979.
Mr Agius became chairman of Allied Insurance Agency Ltd in 1990, was director of Mid-Med Bank Ltd (1994-95), founder-member of the council of the Strickland Foundation in 1979, a council member of the Federation of Industries (1975-80); a council member of the Malta Employers' Association (1975-81; 1994-99), vice-president (1981-82) and president (1984-85); and council member of the Malta Printing Association in 2002. He is also a member of the Commonwealth Press Union.
Mr Agius, who was educated at St Edward's College, Cottonera, is married to Margaret née Ellul Sullivan. They have a son, Christopher.
Dr Bencini, 48, joined Allied Newspapers Ltd and Progress Press Co Ltd in 1982 as company secretary to the respective boards. He is also senior lecturer in the Department of Public Law of the University of Malta and a member of the Law Faculty board, and vice-president of the Chamber of Advocates.
Dr Bencini served as chairman of the school board of San Andrea School (1992-96) and board director of Enemalta Corporation (1997-2003).
Educated at St Aloysius College, Birkirkara, and the University of Malta, where he graduated in Law in 1980, Dr Bencini is married to Juanita née Muscat Scerri. They have three sons - Nicolò, Pier Luca and Rafel.
Mr Hillman, 38, joined Allied Newspapers in 1998 as business development manager. His primarily responsibilities were the Website, timesofmalta.com, and the archiving department. Between 1998 and 2003 Mr Hillman occupied the post of media expert on the MIC consultative board.
Mr Hillman was educated at St Aloysius College and graduated from the University of Malta BA (Hons.) and M.Phil. in Communication Studies, and MA in European Studies from Sussex University. He lectures in Mass Media Research and Political Communication at the Centre for Communcation Technology at the University of Malta.
An avid sportsman, Mr Hillman was three times Malta athletics champion at 400 metres and is a capped international rugby player for Malta. He has been a member of the Armed Forces of Malta's voluntary reserve force since 1998.
Mr Asciak, who is 73, joined the Sports Department of Allied Newspapers in 1949, becoming sports editor of Il-Berqa in 1951. He was appointed deputy editor of the Times of Malta in 1964, and deputy advertising manager in 1969.
Mr Asciak was elected to the board of directors of Allied Newspapers in 1972, becoming managing director of Progress Press in 1973.
Educated at the Lyceum, Mr Asciak is married to Marion née Manfrè. They have four children - Ralph, Gordon, Rozanne and Mark.