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Corporate Interview<br />
Malta Business Review<br />
Leading by Example<br />
The Malta Business Review interviews Colin Gregory, Managing Director at Equiom Malta Limited<br />
By Martin Vella<br />
<strong>MBR</strong>: How do you think Equiom fits in<br />
with Malta’s economic model?<br />
CG: I think Equiom and Malta really<br />
complement each other. Working in an<br />
agile economy has enabled Equiom Malta<br />
to expand beyond trusts, foundations and<br />
corporate services and introduce soughtafter<br />
specialist services including property,<br />
eBusiness, family office, Maltese yacht<br />
leasing, Tax and VAT as well as residency,<br />
immigration and citizenship advisory<br />
services. Malta is an ideal location for<br />
Equiom and has been since we opened<br />
our office in 2012. I’m proud to bring over<br />
20 years’ financial services experience to<br />
the table, enabling me to steer Equiom<br />
Malta forward and drive the growth of<br />
the business.<br />
Our culture is focused on<br />
building long - standing<br />
trusting relationships with<br />
our clients<br />
<strong>MBR</strong>: Malta has gone from something that<br />
was typically offshore in its nature, where<br />
there was a lot of work done with nonresidents,<br />
to a very modern and vibrant<br />
international finance centre within the<br />
EU. Where do you see further growth in<br />
Malta’s economy and opportunities for<br />
Equiom?<br />
CG: We are constantly identifying areas<br />
of growth for our Malta office and it<br />
certainly helps to operate in such a proenterprise<br />
environment with a progressive<br />
government and approachable regulator<br />
that recognises and supports growing<br />
industries. With Brexit on the horizon,<br />
we anticipate that there will be increased<br />
interest from certain territories that will be<br />
exiting the EU and looking to move some<br />
of their structures to an EU jurisdiction –<br />
and Malta is very well placed to take this<br />
business on.<br />
From an Equiom perspective, we are keen<br />
to further grow the funds and pension areas<br />
of the business. As we expand globally and<br />
add new service lines as a result of our<br />
acquisitive strategy, we are able to introduce<br />
new services and expertise across all our<br />
offices, and this directly benefits clients of<br />
the Malta office.<br />
<strong>MBR</strong>: What does leadership look like<br />
today in the trust and financial services,<br />
where trust (faith) has been so badly<br />
damaged?<br />
CG: Equiom has spent a long time<br />
establishing a reputable position within the<br />
industry. As a business, we have decades of<br />
experience and when you combine a leading<br />
reputation with hard working people, trust<br />
amongst your peers comes naturally. Our<br />
culture is focused on building long-standing<br />
trusting relationships with our clients - this<br />
has always been our approach to business<br />
and it ensures we stand head and shoulders<br />
above our competitors.<br />
<strong>MBR</strong>: What is Equiom’s growth strategy?<br />
CG: Equiom has a twin track approach<br />
incorporating growth through acquisition<br />
and solid year-on-year organic growth.<br />
We’ve worked hard to establish a leading<br />
reputation and this is a driving force behind<br />
our organic growth. Acquisitive growth has<br />
seen Equiom expand substantially recently<br />
and we now have a presence in nine<br />
jurisdictions – the British Virgin Islands,<br />
Guernsey, Hong Kong, the Isle of Man,<br />
Jersey, Malta, the State of Qatar, Singapore<br />
and the United Arab Emirates.<br />
Across all these locations, we have people<br />
on the ground with the relevant expertise.<br />
As a business we recognise you’re only ever<br />
as good as your people – and good people<br />
are at the heart of Equiom.<br />
In terms of our global growth goals, we aim<br />
to be operating at the top level of trust and<br />
corporate service providers within all our<br />
jurisdictions and we plan to have an even<br />
split across Asia, Europe, the Isle of Man<br />
and the Channel Islands.<br />
<strong>MBR</strong>: What’s your personal approach to<br />
leadership?<br />
CG: Leading by example is always the<br />
best approach to management. Career<br />
progression is a key focus across the<br />
business and I personally ensure our<br />
Malta staff are given the confidence to<br />
reach their potential. Regular, structured<br />
appraisals allow me to highlight areas of<br />
personal development within the team and<br />
this in turn helps me to create the ideal<br />
environment for individuals to succeed in.<br />
I am also a keen advocate of empowerment<br />
and coaching rather than applying an<br />
authoritarian-style of management.<br />
Empowerment is about trusting employees<br />
to make decisions in certain situations,<br />
which in turn makes employees gain a<br />
stronger sense of ownership and worth<br />
when entrusted to make important<br />
decisions. This results in staff feeling<br />
more productive in their roles, and helps<br />
them grow within the business, ultimately<br />
benefiting our clients. <strong>MBR</strong><br />
All rights reserved / Copyright 2016<br />
EDITOR’S<br />
Note<br />
Colin Gregory is responsible<br />
for the overall operation<br />
and performance of<br />
Equiom (Malta) Limited and for ensuring that<br />
business performance is in line with group<br />
strategy. With a seat on the Equiom (Malta)<br />
Limited Board, Colin has full responsibility<br />
for the business, focusing on building and<br />
maintaining client relationships as well as coordinating<br />
day-to-day office management for<br />
Equiom’s Malta office.<br />
www.maltabusinessreview.net<br />
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