Group Management Team

Mr Louis Farrugia qualified as Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in the UK. He is Chairman of the Farsons Group as well as the Multigas, Liquigas and Farrugia Investments Groups. Mr Farrugia was the founding President of the Foundation of Human Resources and past President of the Malta Chamber of Commerce. In January 2010 he was appointed Chairman of the Malta Tourism Authority and in May 2011 he resigned this post to be appointed non-Executive Chairman of Air Malta plc, a position he held until April 2013.

In 2004 he received an Order of Merit (MOM) in recognition of his contribution on a national level to industry and enterprise in Malta.

He was also awarded Ufficiale dell'Ordine Al Merito della Repubblica Italiana on 15 January 2013, for his voluntary involvement in initiatives outside his direct line of business.

Mr Norman Aquilina joined the Farsons Group as Managing Director of Quintano Foods, when this food importation business was acquired by the Group back in 2004. In 2007, he was appointed Group Chief Commercial Officer and has since successfully introduced and led a number of projects and initiatives following the liberalization of the carbonated soft drinks market and the setting up of the Farsons Logistics Centre in 2008.

As from the 1st of July, 2010, he was appointed Group Chief Executive and has since then led the Group’s management team towards the building-up of a more competitive business model along with consistent profitable growth.

Apart from being a Council member of the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise & Industry, he is also the Chairman of both the Manufacturers Economic Group and Fast Moving Consumer Goods Group within the Chamber. Previously he held the post of senior Vice-President of the Chamber where he was actively involved with the merger between the Chamber of Commerce and Federation of Industry and also served as chairman of the Chamber’s EU Steering Committee for the years leading up to Malta’s EU accession. He also represented the Chamber as a Board Director of the Malta External Trade Corporation (METCO).

He pursued his studies in International trade with the London Institute of Export and holds a diploma in business management from the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He furthered his studies at various management schools abroad - notably Leuven, Bruges and Oxford - and is an alumni of the Salzburg Seminar. He is also one of the first award winners of the Strickland Foundation.

Mr Michael Farrugia is the Deputy Chief Executive (Beverage Business) and Executive Director of Simonds Farsons Cisk plc. Mr Farrugia joined the Farsons Group in 2006 and has since assumed a wide range of responsibilities, playing a leading role in various critical capital investments, projects and innovations undertaken by the Group over the years. Mr Farrugia has been an Executive Director of the Farsons Group since 2011, is a Director and Chairman of Farsons Beverage Imports Company Ltd., a Trustee of the Farsons Foundation, as well as a Director of Trident Estates plc, Farrugia Investments Ltd and Multigas Ltd.

Mr. Farrugia completed his secondary and tertiary education in the United Kingdom and graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a Master’s degree in European History before obtaining a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Warwick.

Mr John Bonello Ghio is Head of The Brewhouse and Corporate Projects of Simonds Farsons Cisk plc. He joined the Farsons Group in 2011 as General Manager of Food Chain Limited where he spearheaded the growth of the restaurant business through the opening of a number of new restaurants. In 2015 he was appointed Director of Quintano Foods Limited and subsequently appointed Group Head of Food Business. In 2022 he moved to head office and heads The Brewhouse and also takes on various other projects. Mr Bonello Ghio is a director of Farsons Beverage Imports Company Ltd.

Mr Bonello Ghio graduated from the Malta Institute of Accounts, is a fellow member of the MIA and is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Mr Christopher Borg Cardona was appointed Head of Logistics in 2010 and is responsible for all aspects of warehousing and distribution operations at Farsons.

After joining the former Farsons’ subsidiary company, Guido Vella Ltd as a Manager in 2005, he was appointed Distribution Manager at the new centralised Logistics Centre in 2007, where he led the distribution functions of Farsons and FBIC. In 2009, he was promoted to Logistics Manager responsible for both the warehousing and the distribution functions, the management of EcoPure Ltd and has since been involved in major extension projects within Logistics.

For the last 24 years, Mr Borg Cardona has been serving as a volunteer with the St. John Rescue Corps, where he is currently Deputy Commissioner.

Mr Eugenio Caruana joined Farsons Group as a Trainee Brewer in 1988 after graduating as a Chemist from the University of Malta. After a short induction period in the brewing department he followed as post graduate course in Malting and Brewing science at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh. Upon his return from Scotland, he joined the Farsons’ Brewing team as a Brewer Manager and was directly involved in a number of brewing projects connected with the modernisation and automation of the brewing plant.

He became Head Brewer in 2004 with direct responsibilities for the Brewing/Water Treatment operations and the overall quality function at SFC. He also formed part of the technical team responsible for the building of the new Brew House which was successfully commissioned in 2012.

Mr Caruana was appointed Head of Production in 2012 and was recently promoted to the post of Chief Operations Officer.

Mr Philip Farrugia B.A. (Hons) Economics, B.Comm currently occupies the role of Group Head of I.T. and Business Services with Information and Communications Technology, Shipping and Administration falling under his remit.

Mr Farrugia has extensive experience in both the public and private sectors. After graduating from the University of Malta in 1994, Philip joined the Consultancy Services arm of Management Systems Unit (MSU) Ltd., today the Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA), where he worked on a number of high profile project implementations while leading other public service change management initiatives.

He then moved to the private sector joining Quintano Foods Ltd (formerly Law. Quintano & Co. Ltd.) in the role of Operations Manager and, following the acquisition of the Company by the Farsons Group, he was entrusted in 2007 to lead a process for the planning, design and implementation of all the business processes and workflows within the new and extensive Farsons logistics centre that was inaugurated in 2008. That same year, he was appointed General Manager of Quintano Foods Ltd where, among others, he also oversaw a series of development projects and growth initiatives in line with the business plan for the company, a post he held until 2013 where he was then appointed to the current position within the Farsons Group.

Mr Tonio Mifsud Bonnici joined Farsons Group as a QA Technician at the Main Laboratory in 1989. He was appointed Laboratory Officer in 1996. Following the completion of a Bachelor of Arts in Youth and Community Studies at the University of Malta, he also successfully completed a Masters in Human Resource Development and Performance Management with the University of Leicester. In 2006, he started his career within the Human Resources department of the Farsons Group. In 2010 he was promoted HR Services Manager where his focus for many years was on the HR Operations of the Farsons Group.

He was appointed Head of HR for the Farsons Group in February 2024.

Mr Gordon Naudi joined the Farsons Group in 2022, taking over the responsibilities of all food franchise outlets operated by Food Chain Limited.

He has vast experience in the hospitality industry with over 17 years' experience under his belt. His last role was Cluster Director of Sales of InterContinental Malta & Holiday Inn Express.

Completing his tertiary education from the University of London, he read for a Diploma in Marketing. He followed up his studies with a Master of Science in Marketing from the University of Sheffield.

Mr Sean Portelli graduated B.Com (Hons) Management, followed by an EMBA at the University of Malta. Mr. Portelli joined Farsons Group as Business Manager of Quintano Foods Limited in 2016. He was responsible for the importation, sales, marketing, and distribution of the various international food brands represented by Farsons Group, to service Retail, HORECA and Food Chain Limited.

Mr Portelli has extensive managerial experience in both the Marketing and FMCG industries. Since graduating from University in 1998, he has occupied several senior managerial positions with leading companies in both sectors including FBS Ltd., Alf Mizzi, JP advertising, MPS and V&F Portelli.

As from January 2022, he has been appointed General Manager of Quintano Foods Ltd. He is responsible for running the business with the objective of achieving continued growth in the food sector. In conjunction with the above, he is responsible for the development of a new state-of-the-art facility catering for offices and a logistics centre for the company.

Mr Pierre Stafrace graduated in Business Management from the University of Malta and followed an International Student Exchange Program at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Following a career in the tourism industry in the Canary Islands, London and with NSTS in Malta, he joined the Farsons Group in 1994 as a Brand Executive, managing various brands, eventually including Cisk Lager. Four years later, he was appointed Marketing Manager, with responsibility of marketing for all locally produced Farsons beverages. In 2005, he was appointed General Manager of Farsons Beverage Imports Co Ltd.

Mr Stafrace is currently serving as Chairperson of the Wines, Spirits, Beverages & Tobacco Business Section within the Malta Chamber of Commerce.

Ms Anne Marie Tabone is a Certified Public Accountant with vast experience in the insurance industry having been a leading member of management within Malta’s largest insurance group, Middlesea Group. Throughout her professional career she has developed strong managerial, organisational, financial and communication skills, in addition to a deep understanding of finance, in depth knowledge of the insurance sector, risk management, regulatory environment, investor and customer requirements. A graduate from the University of Malta, Ms Tabone has held directorships in various companies and organisations and she has been a member of several corporate governance bodies. She joined Farsons Group in 2017.

Ms Susan Weenink Camilleri joined the Farsons Group in 1982 originally employed as an accounts clerk within the Finance department. The 10 years she spent working within this section gave her a solid grounding across all areas of operation within the Brewery, with a particular focus on management accounting and sales forecasting. In 1991 she joined the Marketing Department initially as Market Research Officer eventually taking up responsibilities of brand management and spent a number of years overseeing the implementation of marketing plans of a number of brands within the company’s portfolio from both the beer and soft drinks categories. This was followed by a number of appointments within the Marketing Business Unit of the Company leading to her appointment as Head of Marketing and Communications in 2010. Following a restructuring exercise which saw the merging of the sales and marketing teams, Ms Weenink was appointed Head of Sales & Marketing in 2019, a post she continues to occupy today.

Originally a finance student, over the years Ms Weenink has participated in a number of specialised international conferences focused on the beverage industry, with a particular focus on marketing, and has been instrumental in managing the more recent transition from traditional marketing to digital marketing focussing on the use of social media. She has gained expertise in many areas of the Company’s operations and sits on a number of internal boards.  With over 40 years’ experience in the beverage industry, she has worked closely with global brands and corporations including Pepsico, Carlsberg International and Britvic.