Becoming Eunoia’s sole owner has given Stefan Farrugia a ‘different perspective’ and ‘revived energy’

Stefan Farrugia, CEO at Eunoia Ltd, has said that since becoming the sole owner of the data analytics company, he has had a different perspective about leadership, and has also felt revitalised about reaching the organisation’s goals.

Eunoia is a cloud-first company that is focused on providing business intelligence (BI) solutions. It is a start-up that has had a market presence for various years, having been the BI team of another company, before it was hived off in 2017. Mr Farrugia has been involved in the company since its inception, and in 2019 he was appointed CEO.

As a company operating in the rapidly evolving tech world, having a clear goal is vital in order to adapt and remain relevant, and this is exactly what Mr Farrugia and the team at Eunoia has sought to do in 2023, the CEO explained as part of MaltaCEOs.mt’s end-of-year series.

When asked how we would recap the past year in three words, he chose “purpose, clarity, and empowerment”.

During the year, Mr Farrugia managed to “redefine” and “confirm” his and the company’s purposes, which given the acceleration of the market, “had a huge impact” on the business and its customers.

In terms of clarity, he noted that it was an “incredible year from a personal growth perspective”, as he had the opportunity to redefine his partnerships in order to have more clarity on the next evolution. He proceeded to thank his mentors who had a significant effect on the way he now looks at his “vivid vision” for the company.

“2023 was the year when empowerment to our people bore a lot of fruits, as my team has become very resourceful and extremely committed, now more than ever. It is incredible to see how empowerment is key for people to surprise you,” Mr Farrugia explained.

However, the main development that stood out for him in 2023 was him becoming the sole owner of Eunoia.

“This has given me a different perspective and a revived energy to pursue the vision and mission of the company without the conflicts that had been created due to too far away ideas,” he explained.

Mr Farrugia said that his energy is now fully focused on growing the business in a way that remains loyal to Eunoia’s original mission of empowering users to look for potential risks and opportunities, while increasing the automation and correctness of these processes. He noted that this is an objective that has proven “successful over and over again”.

“The confirmation that the dream when I founded Eunoia to have a focused data and analytics company is bearing fruits, as the company has continued to grow and has become a major player in the region,” he continued.

He also acknowledged that there were a number of other notable moments he is very proud of, such as handing out the first long service awards last year, together with winning the Best Cloud Solution Award during the Malta Business Awards.

Mr Farrugia acknowledged that he is grateful for the unwavering support that his family continues to give him, as he would not have embarked on this journey without them. For 2023, he is also particularly grateful for the team, as they have continuously supported the business and have surprised Mr Farrugia with their “loyalty, commitment, passion, and determination”.

“I am blessed to have such a talented team with a heart of gold,” he added.

Looking ahead to 2024, Mr Farrugia remarked that he still cannot understand how in the present day, humans still feel the need to bomb one another.

“Humanity should be different. The challenges in 2024 will be related to the Ukrainian and Middle East crises. Let’s hope peace can prevail and that both do not escalate further,” he commented.

He also pointed out that inflation in Europe may also continue to have an impact on markets, as “less spending power” will eventually “reverberate on the businesses”.

On the other hand, Mr Farrugia also said that the more organisations understand the power that artificial intelligence (AI) possesses, and the more organisations start to “embrace the journey” by leveraging their data, “the more opportunities it will create”. “This is an evolution, and we look forward to continue investing in this area to support the visionaries to get the most out of the technologies,” he explained.

Turning more specifically to his personal life, Mr Farrugia said that he spent the New Year with his family and close friends, “nothing out of this world”.

However, he is looking to implement some changes to his daily routine and work on self-development. This is particularly the case when it comes to time management, as he wants to continue working on this skill to establish a better work-life balance.

“I’m also trying to get back into the fitness routine I had in the past. Albeit I am not some years older, I should be wiser and more committed,” he said. Mr Farrugia emphasised that “health is very important in high stress jobs”, even if there are some periods that require “full focus on what is at hand”.