Leadership

Bart Bronselaer

Independent Chairman and Non-Executive Director

Bart Bronselaer has more than 30 years’ experience in European institutional financial services. He started his career with Merrill Lynch International in London, where he held various positions, the last as Head of Debt Capital Markets for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Throughout his career Bart has held various key roles. These include Board Chairman of Royal Park Investments, Board Director, President of the Risk Committee and member of the Audit Committee at Dexia NV and Dexia Credit Local, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Management Board ad interim of Dexia and director and Chief Executive Officer ad interim of Dexia Crédit Local. He has also been a member of the Board of Directors of United Pensions and a member of the Board of Directors, President of the Risk Committee and Member of the Audit Committee at MeDirect Belgium SA/NV.

Bart Bronselaer holds a Master’s degree in Industrial Sciences, a Master’s degree in Information Sciences and a Master’s degree in Business Administration. He participated in the Risk Management in Banking Programme, held at INSEAD.

John Zarb

Independent Non-Executive Director

John Zarb joined MeDirect’s Board on 17 July 2017 and is the Chairman of the Audit Committee.

With over 40 years of experience with PwC in Malta, he retired from his role as Partner in 2014.

John is a former President of Malta Institute of Accountants and served as Malta’s representative on the EU Accounting Regulatory Committee and on the Accountancy Board for several years.

Dina Quraishi

Independent Non-Executive Director & Chair of Board Risk and Compliance Committee

Dina Quraishi joined MeDirect’s board on 6 July 2023.

She has more than 20 years of experience in risk management covering various sectors including payments, FinTech, engineering and financial services.

Dina formerly served as Chief Risk Officer at SWIFT, Global Head of Enterprise Risk Management at Sandvik and Head of Operational Risk at Zurich Insurance.

Philip C. English

Non-Executive Director

Philip C. English joined MeDirect’s board on 22 August 2023.

He has more than 30 years of experience focusing on portfolio management, security valuation, financial markets and institutions and commercial banking.

Philip formerly served on the Board of Directors of the CFA Society in Washington, DC and served on the Investment Management Committee for Raffa Wealth Management.

He is also a Research Associate Professor of Finance at the Fox School of Business, Temple University and Executive Director of the Fischer-Shain Centre for Financial Services.

Josef Holub

Non-Executive Director

Josef is a Member of the Supervisory Board and of the Audit Committee of Banka CREDITAS, the controlling shareholder of MDB Group. He previously served as Chief Financial Officer of Banka CREDITAS from January 2012 to March 2022 and as a Member of its Board of Directors from January 2017 to March 2022. Before joining Banka CREDITAS, Josef held seniorroles at Aviva životní pojišťovna, a.s. He is also a Chartered Certified Accountant and a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA). He joined the MDB Group board in November 2025.

Dr. Steve Agius

Independent Non-Executive Director (subject to regulatory approval)

Dr. Agius is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Active Ageing and Community Care in Malta. He previously served as CEO of Identità Malta. From 2020 to 2024, Dr Agius held the role of Chief Operating Officer at Mater Dei Hospital, where he was responsible for coordinating Malta’s national COVID-19 vaccination programme. He brings extensive leadership experience across healthcare, identity management and communications, together with strong governance and risk oversight credentials gained through his prior service as a Board Member of Bank of Valletta.During his tenure as a Board Member of Bank of Valletta, he was a member of the Audit Committee and Chairperson of the Information Technology Oversight Committee.

Dr. Agius is also a Senior Visiting Lecturer at the University of Malta. He holds an Honours degree in Computing and Information Systems, an MBA in e-Business, and a PhD from the University of Malta in collaboration with Liverpool John Moores University, with a focus on the use of data in strategic decision-making.

Jean-Claude Maher

Group Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director

Jean-Claude Maher has more than 30 years of experience in Banking. He joined Deutsche Bank AG in
1994 where he held various roles in Research, Corporate Banking, Transaction Banking, Private Banking and Country Management.

Throughout his career he held managerial positions on country, regional and global levels, including
as Country Chief Operating Officer and Branch Manager of Deutsche Bank in Belgium. Jean Claude joined MeDirect Belgium as Chief Operations Officer in 2023 and was appointed Group CEO in February 2025.

Jean-Claude holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Political Sciences from the University of Cologne, Germany.

Izabela Banas

Group Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director

Izabela joined MeDirect on 3 June 2024. She has 25 years experience in finance at large corporations and 17 years in financial services. She is a certified Lean Sigma Black Belt.

Previous positions include Chief Financial Officer of Bank of Valletta, Chief Financial Officer of HSBC Private Bank, EMEA, and various senior management roles in finance at Credit Suisse, Willis Towers Watson, and General Electric.

Chris Portelli

Chief Technology Officer and Executive Director (subject to regulatory approval)

Chris Portelli has been working in the technology industry since 2002, specialising in the financial and iGaming sectors. Chris began his career with CSL Data Centre in Malta, and over the years has worked with several international online gaming companies and financial institutions.

His role was both of an advisor and technical lead, designing and implementing technical architectures together with supporting new business requirements and challenges. Chris was also actively involved in the iGaming start-up community working with several start-ups to assist them setting up their digital channels and integrations with various providers.

Murali Subramanian

Chief Commercial Officer (subject to regulatory approval)

Murali was appointed Chief Commercial Officer in January 2026.

With nearly 40 years’ experience in senior leadership roles in global and large regional banks, Murali developed extensive expertise in Commercial, Treasury and Transaction Banking, Trade and Supply Chain Financing, Digital Transformation, and New Technologies.

Over the past decade, firstly as CEO of FIMBank plc in Malta, and latterly as the Chair or Member of Supervisory Boards at various banks, he has also built expertise in retail banking and wealth.

Lorraine Bonello Ghio

Chief Administration Officer

Lorraine Bonello Ghio began her career with Mid-Med Bank in 1989. After receiving her basic training across a number of the Bank’s departments, Lorraine was appointed PA to the general manager of MIMBOL (Mid-Med’s offshore subsidiary), a position she held until 1996.

Moving to a Legal and Financial Services practice, Lorraine developed her role as PA to the Managing Partner through assuming responsibility for the broader Administration and Human Resources functions. Attracted to the challenges of a start-up business, Lorraine joined MeDirect in its formative stage in 2006, primarily in the role of PA to the CEO, but with involvement across all the support functions of the bank.

With the purchase and recapitalisation of the bank in 2009, she was appointed Head of Administration and Human Resources and was subsequently appointed as Chief Administrator Officer. Lorraine is CertCIB qualified and holds a diploma in Business Administration and Human Resources.

Emma Camilleri

Chief People Officer

Emma joined MeDirect as Chief People Officer in January 2024, bringing her extensive expertise to oversee HR for the bank’s global team. Her responsibilities span the whole employee lifecycle, including recruitment, employee development, engagement, and total rewards & remuneration. Before her tenure at MeDirect, she held the position of Group HR and Operations Support Director at Creditinfo, a provider of credit risk management solutions. In this role, she managed HR functions for a workforce of over 400 across three continents and more than 23 countries.

With over 30 years of executive experience, Emma’s background includes not only HR but also sales, marketing, and account management roles within large corporations and small to medium enterprises. Her strategic focus has enabled her to identify and capitalise on new sales opportunities while leading diverse teams and managing customer relationships globally.

Transitioning from commercial roles to HR has equipped Emma with exceptional leadership, decision-making, and communication skills, complemented by strong business acumen. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and languages from the University of Wales in Cardiff. A British native, Emma has made Malta her home for many years.

Martin Kubíček

Group Chief Risk Officer (subject to regulatory approval)

Martin was appointed to the Board in November 2025. He currenty also serves as Chief Risk Officer and Member of the Board of Directors of Banka CREDITAS, a role he has held since 2023. He brings over 19 years of experience in the banking sector, having held senior positions in Risk Management and IT Security. Throughout his career, he has led the implementation of integrated risk management frameworks and risk appetite structures, contributing to strengthened risk governance and strategic alignment across institutions.

Eduardo Pereiras Navas

Malta Business Chief Risk Officer (subject to regulatory approval)

Eduardo has a background in risk management, prudential regulation, and compliance. Eduardo has led multi-disciplinary teams during his regulatory experience, which comprises both the MFSA and the ECB, and has contributed to international regulatory standards as a member of the EBA Supervision, Risks and Innovation Standing Committee. Prior to his regulatory roles, he worked in various AML-related positions.

Eduardo holds an ICA qualification in Governance, Risk, and Compliance, and his academic credentials include a master’s in Business Administration and Corporate Finance from the University of Finance and Administration in Prague, as well as a bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.

Cressida Galea

Company Secretary & Head of Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs

Cressida Galea joined the Bank in 2018, initially forming part of the Regulatory Risk function, where she was responsible for supporting the Bank in its ongoing regulatory engagement, horizon scanning of applicable legislative and supervisory obligations and regulatory change management. Her responsibilities included active engagement with the European Central Bank, as well as with the relevant national competent authorities.

In 2024, Cressida was appointed Head of Regulatory Affairs and Sustainability at the Bank. In that role, she has led the implementation of the Bank’s ESG strategy, ESG reporting and stakeholder engagement initiatives. Furthermore, in 2026, Cressida was appointed as Company Secretary of the MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc and MDB Group Limited.

Cressida Galea holds a Master of Science degree in Economics from the University of Malta.

Chris Breemeersch

Group Chief Internal Audit Officer

Chris Breemeersch started his career in 1995 as a Financial Auditor with KPMG Belgium focusing on insurance and banking institutions. In 1998 he joined the Internal Audit Division of KBC Group where he gained significant international experience as an Internal Auditor, Operational Risk Officer and Project Manager. He then transferred to Dexia Group in 2004 and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (Belgian Branch) in 2013 in a succession of international executive management positions in Internal Audit.

Between 2016 and 2019 Chris coordinated the operational project activities of a major Belgian consultancy firm for its financial services sector clients but eventually returned to the banking world as Head of Internal Audit for Puilaetco Belgium (a Quintet private bank). Chris joined MeDirect Group in July 2021 and was confirmed as Group Chief Audit Executive by the Regulatory Authorities in March 2022.

Keith Cauchi

Group Chief Information Security Officer

With two decades of experience in information security, Keith joined MeDirect Bank in 2017 as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), where he leads the organization’s information security strategy. Before joining the bank, he held senior Information security roles across both the private and public sectors.

Keith holds an MSc in Information Security and a BSc in Business Management and Computing, along with CISA and CEH professional certifications.

Giancarlo Redaelli

Chief Compliance Officer (subject to regulatory approval)

Giancarlo Redaelli is an experienced Compliance, Risk and Regulatory executive with more than 25 years of senior leadership experience across banking, asset management and digital finance.

Throughout his career, he has served as Chief Compliance Officer, MLRO and Chief Financial Officer for regulated financial institutions, leading regulatory engagement and governance frameworks across the EU and North America, with exposure to offshore jurisdictions. He has been repeatedly approved by major supervisory authorities, including the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), AMF (France), Central Bank of Ireland and the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), and has held Compliance and MLRO responsibilities under the Luxembourg CSSF and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Giancarlo is recognised for his strong judgment, board-level perspective and ability to translate complex regulatory expectations into practical, proportionate solutions that support sustainable business growth while safeguarding customers and financial stability.

Owen Camilleri

Chief Accounting Officer

Owen joined MeDirect in 2014 and is the Bank’s Chief Accounting Officer, overseeing financial, tax, and regulatory reporting.

He started his career at PwC, where he worked for fifteen years, managing banking audits and regulatory advisory projects at local and foreign offices. He chairs the Malta Bankers’ Association’s Accounting , Financial Reporting and Data Standing Committee.

Owen holds a Bachelor of Accountancy (Honours) from the University of Malta.

Alain Moreau

Chief Executive Officer Belgium and Executive Director

Alain Moreau served as Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Bank Belgium between 2009 and 2019. Between 2012 and 2016, he was also Global Head of Investment Products and Insurances for Deutsche Bank Group. Prior to that he served as Chief Investment Officer and Chief Operating Officer for Deutsche Bank Belgium and as a Junior Lecturer in Business Administration for the University of Namur.

Mr Moreau holds a Master of Engineering and a degree in Business Administration from UCLouvain (Belgium).

Marija Fenech

Chief Risk Officer and Executive Director

Marija Fenech has over a decade of banking experience with various senior risk positions within MeDirect Group, gaining extensive knowledge in risk management.

She has a Bachelors Degree in Education & Mathematics from the University of Malta and is a qualified Professional Risk Manager (PRM).

Jean-Marcel Phe Funchal

Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director

Jean-Marcel joined MeDirect Bank in February 2024. He has over 15 years of banking experience, with a particular focus on Asset and Liability Management, Interest Rate Risk Management, Credit Risk Modelling, Liquidity Risk Management, and Financial Performance.

From 2007 to 2018, he held various positions in ALM-Treasury at BNP Paribas Fortis. In 2018, he joined bpost bank where he served as Head of ALM-Treasury, Head of Performance Management and then Finance Director.

Jean-Marcel graduated in Monetary Economics and Econometrics from the University of Geneva (Switzerland) and obtained an M.A. in Economics from UCLouvain (Belgium). He also holds master’s degrees in Quantitative Methods in Finance and in Political Science, both from ULB (Belgium).