Grant Thornton’s partner responsible for tax and regulatory services, Wayne Pisani, has recently been appointed president of Malta’s Institute of Financial Services Practitioners, taking over the role from Juanita Bencini.
Dr Pisani leads Grant Thornton’s financial services team, conducting an active consulting practice on the legal and tax implications involved in the structuring of both local and international financial institutions, M&A and project finance transactions. He is a member of the board of governors of FinanceMalta, a council member of the Malta Institute of Management and a member of the International Fiscal Association, the International Bar Association and the Maltese Chamber of Advocates.
He is an active thought leader in the financial technology space, making regular contributions at fintech conferences, and has a passion for the security and technological aspects of distributed ledger technology.
He is also a joint contributing author to European Competition Laws: A Guide to the EC and its Member States, the leading legal compendium with respect to Competition law in Europe, published by Lexis Nexis and revised annually.
In his role as IFSP president, together with the council members, he will continue to pursue through representations to the authorities on a variety of issues which have an impact on the financial sector as well as on the broader economy and reputation of Malta.
“Built on the vision of a group of fellow practitioners who three decades ago actively set the strategy for the growth of Malta into a financial services platform, the IFSP is set to continue evolving the industry’s offering as a key pillar of the Maltese economy,” he said.
The IFSP provides a forum for the open exchange of views and the dissemination of knowledge and ideas relating to financial services in Malta. It is a means for financial services practitioners to meet each other through educational and social events which take place throughout the year. In this way, the IFSP aims to foster co-operation between the various financial services stakeholders including accountants, lawyers, trustees and policy experts in industry, academia, regulators and government.
The IFSP also holds seminars, conferences and courses for its members and other practitioners to communicate new developments, to tap into opinions and to promote best practice.
The IFSP Council for 2018/2019 is composed of Dr Pisani, president; Andrew Manduca, vice president; Rosanne Bonnici, honorary secretary; and Robert Attard, Stephen Attard, Juanita Bencini, Juanita Brockdorff, Nick Captur, Chris Curmi, Neville Gatt, Chris Naudi, Mirko Rapa, Kevin Valenzia, Andrew Zammit, Andre Zarb and Andre Zerafa.