Effective leadership ‘starts with listening’, says ETERNA Group’s Priya Lakshmanan

Ever since childhood, Priya Lakshmanan has been passionate about food and the care and well-being it represents. Her passion eventually became her profession when she decided to pursue a degree in catering and hotel management. 

“I knew that I needed to pursue a career in an area that really captured my imagination and interest, and that passion is hospitality,” Priya states. 

After completing her undergraduate degree in India, Priya went on to pursue a master’s degree at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK.

“Ever since, I have embarked on a journey of professional growth that has taken me across continents, from the UK to Dubai and now to Malta,” Priya says. 

Having worked with major global brands such as Marriott and Carrefour, she welcomed the opportunity to join ETERNA Group in Malta. 

“I first visited Malta in 2022 and, after meeting Frederick Azzopardi and James Barbara, key members of the Group’s leadership team, I was inspired by their clear leadership, passion and ambition. I saw an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to their vision by bringing my experience in quality, production and systems.”

Priya initially joined the ETERNA team as Chief Operations Officer, where she spent time understanding how the business worked, particularly its contracts, client requirements and production processes. “My initial focus was on improving operations, controlling costs and strengthening profitability,” Priya explains. 

As that work developed, she became more involved in the wider direction of the business. “Moving into strategy and optimisation was a natural progression of my role within the company,” she says. “I was able to use the operational experience gained across the Group’s companies to help prepare for the next stage of growth.”

Priya’s experience in both quality and operations has provided a strong foundation for her new role. Moving forward, her priorities are to strengthen systems, support the Group’s managers and ensure that expansion makes sense, both operationally and financially.

“We are at a stage where the Group as a whole needs to better understand its capacity, costs and customer requirements, and use this data to turn our plans into clear actions,” Priya explains. “Everyone should know what they are responsible for and how progress will be measured.”

Identifying where change is needed to achieve these objectives is one thing; implementing it effectively requires considerable expertise and experience. Reflecting on her professional journey, Priya believes that one of the most important lessons she has learnt is that change takes time.

“Effective change isn’t something that happens only on paper, with the ‘simple’ redesign of processes,  especially when people have been working in the same way for many years,” Priya explains. “Change can be a complex and multi-layered process. Effective leaders must listen to understand the perspectives and concerns of all stakeholders, and help them see why change is needed and how it can be achieved.”

“Over the years, I have learnt to listen more, be patient and adjust my approach depending on the person and the situation. I am still learning,” Priya admits.

Priya’s transition into the role of Chief Strategy and Optimisation Officer reflects the Group’s significant development and growth since its beginnings as a confectionery business over 35 years ago. Today, ETERNA is structured around a diverse range of sectors, each representing a core area of expertise and service within the organisation. 

These include industrial catering, food manufacturing, events catering, long-term care, domiciliary care and hospitality education. Despite its focus on growth and expansion, including a recent listing on the Malta Stock Exchange, ETERNA Group remains committed to delivering excellence. This is where Priya’s role comes into focus. 

“The ETERNA brand brings all our businesses together under one identity and gives us a shared direction, while preserving the history and experience of each company,” Priya explains. “We have a wealth of knowledge across James Caterers, Malta Healthcare Caterers, Healthmark, The Food Factory and Kore. My role is to ensure that we can leverage synergies across the Group, capitalise on the knowledge within each company and make the best use of our resources.”

Priya also recognises the impact that the Group’s services have on people’s daily lives, whether through its catering products, healthcare services or care-at-home offerings. 

“Our mission comes down to how well we deliver those services every day. My role is to help make that happen through better planning, clear responsibilities and systems that support operations,” she says. “An integral part of this process is ensuring that our teams have the training, tools and support they need to do their jobs well. We also need to listen to them because they see the practical challenges every day.”

Working closely with teams across the Group’s diverse operations is clearly a priority for Priya. She emphasises that listening to their feedback and understanding their concerns are essential if a strategy is to work in practice. 

“Before making a decision, I want to understand what it means for the people doing the work, as well as for the customer receiving the service,” she explains. “We should be clear about what we want to achieve, and by when, but if a process is difficult to follow or people don’t know who is responsible, even a good idea will struggle. We must make it practical for the team to deliver.”

One example of how this collaborative approach has delivered improvements is the development and implementation of the Group’s bespoke software, which connects recipes, production requirements, purchasing, stock and production processes.

“This was a project I led, and it required me to work very closely with all stakeholders to make sure the system supported the way our business and contracts actually work,” Priya reflects. “This digitalisation process has given us better visibility of costs and waste, but it also provides teams with better information to plan their work and make informed decisions. That has helped us improve control and profitability.”

With a clear focus on optimisation, ETERNA Group is also channelling its resources towards another key objective: long-term strategic growth. 

“The Group’s short-term and long-term objectives are connected,” Priya says. “The improvements we make today should also prepare us for growth. The systems we implement now not only help us control current operations but also provide the information we need when considering a new location or contract.”

Priya explains that the Group’s future plans also include expansion beyond Malta. “In the medium term, we see opportunities in hospital and contract catering in the Middle East,” she says. “In fact, we already have a presence there, but in the longer term, we want to take what we do well in Malta and adapt it to other markets.”

She emphasises, however, that each opportunity requires a clear business case, a sound understanding of local requirements and the right resources to maintain quality.

“We have experience in managing complex food and healthcare services, together with strong production knowledge and quality standards. In a new market, it becomes increasingly important for us to listen, understand the customer and adapt to local requirements. We cannot assume that everything that works in Malta will work exactly the same way elsewhere.”

So what would success look like across ETERNA’s businesses, irrespective of location?

For Priya, success encompasses both business results and quality. “Success would include sustainable profitability, successful international growth and consistent service quality,” she states. “More specifically, I also want to see our businesses working more closely together and our teams managing growth confidently.”

She goes on to explain that better planning, less waste and managers making use of reliable information are all positive signs that the Group is heading in the right direction. 

“For me, success should also be reflected in customers continuing to trust us and employees having opportunities to develop. In my view, growth should strengthen both the business and the people within it, and that is what we are aiming for,” she concludes.

This interview forms part of the 50 Business Leaders project. The online serialisation on MaltaCEOs.mt will feature 50 distinguished business leaders, CEOs, and emerging business minds to create debate and encourage business leaders to share their journey with our readers.

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