Coffee, exercise & family: Malta’s Top CEOs share their morning habits

Does what you do when you wake up make a difference to what happens – and the way you tackle it – during the rest of your day? Are there common habits in business leaders’ morning routines that can dictate the path to success? Well, it’s time to find out!

We asked 50 of the island’s most influential business minds to share their morning routines for this year’s edition of MaltaCEOs 2021, and you guessed it, some similarities emerged. Here are five common morning habits of Malta’s top CEOs.

Coffee

You can’t beat a good Cup of Joe in the morning, and if your day generally starts with a steaming cup of coffee, you’re in good company. MAPFRE MSV Life CEO David Curmi gets his day off to a good start with a coffee while he listens to music, while GO CEO Nikhil Patil always begins his day by heading to his favourite café for a cortado. Kevin Rapinett, CEO at Halmann Vella, favours a shot of espresso to kick start his morning, and coffee is described as “a must” for James Calleja, Principal & CEO at MCAST.

Exercise

Exercise is another common factor in the morning routine of Malta’s top CEOs, giving them the crucial energy to tackle anything life throws their way. Among those who favour a spot of exercise in the morning is Norman Aquilina, CEO of Farsons Group, who works out before breakfast, and Julian Mamo, Managing Director at GasanMamo, who fits in a gym session before the office. RE/MAX Malta CEO Jeffrey Buttigieg enjoys going for a walk or jog in the morning, while Peter-Jan Grech, CEO at BRND WGN, makes time for a training session at sunrise, calling it “a new opportunity every day.”

Rising early

I’m sorry to break it to you, but another habit shared by many of Malta’s top CEOs is waking up early – how else are you going to fit everything in? Among the earliest risers are Maltco Lotteries CEO Vasileios Kasiotakis, who enjoys watching sunrise with a coffee, as well as Carblu Malta Managing Director Jamie Houston and Dino Fino Home + Contracts’ CEO Dino Fino, who set their alarms for 5am. Reuben Xuereb, CEO at QP Design | Engineer | Manage is up even earlier at 4:45am, while Sandro Zammit, CEO at Bull Europe Ltd, makes time for a gadget-free hour before heading to the office at 6.30am.

Family time

Making time for the family is not easy when you have a business to run, but for many of Malta’s business leaders, the morning is reserved for their loved ones. MAPFRE Middlesea CEO Felipe Navarro makes sure to “have breakfast as a family before everyone leaves the house”, and Andre Zarb, Senior Partner at KPMG, also enjoys spending time with family over breakfast, before reviewing his agenda for the day. Meanwhile, EBO CEO Gege Gatt playfully reveals, “my two young boys use me as their play-mat at 6am!”

Meditation

Finally, taking time to ground themselves and mentally prepare for the day is another technique shared by a number of Malta’s CEOs. Halmann Vella CEO Kevin Rapinett and TXF Tech CEO Sebastian Ripard both meditate as part of their morning routine, while Reuben Lautier, Architect and Director at Natural Stone Workshop, performs Five Tibetan rites – a form of Tibetan yoga – at the start of his day.

And there you have it – time to set those alarms and get going!