Farsons Group Chairman Louis Farrugia wins EY Entrepreneur of the Year Malta 2023

Farsons Group Chairman Louis Farrugia has officially been named EY Entrepreneur of the Year Malta 2023.

Mr Farrugia has led Farsons Group for over 40 years since taking the helm aged 28. He has also dedicated over 50 years to enterprise, “particularly within the Farsons Group but also with his involvement in other parastatal companies over the years contributing to society in general,” EY said in a statement.

Indeed, Mr Farrugia is also Chairman of Multigas Ltd, Liquigas Ltd, Trident Estates plc and Farrugia Investments Ltd.

At Farsons, EY stressed his “instrumental” role in “diversifying the business and transforming the group through substantial investment in new product lines and innovation.”

The news, announced on Thursday, comes just three days before the business stalwart celebrates his 72nd birthday.

His illustrious career has seen him play a role in several of the country’s leading industry bodies, as founding President of the Foundation of Human Resources and as President of The Malta Chamber.

In 2010 he was appointed Chairman of the Malta Tourism Authority before resigning this post in 2011 to be appointed non-Executive Chairman of Air Malta plc, a position he held until April 2013.

His contribution has seen him receive considerable acclaim, and he was appointed the National Order of Merit in 2004, recognising his contribution to industry and enterprise in Malta.

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

The company he is best known for, Farsons Group, was at the cutting edge of Malta’s industrialisation and the island’s coming of age into the modern world of consumer marketing and brands.

In 1984, Mr Farrugia drew up a fresh Brewery development master plan that included further enhancements to the beer processing facilities.

The subsequent state-of-the-art fully automated brewing process plant, that included an extensive tank farm facility, was inaugurated in 1990.

Amongst more recent projects has been Farsons’ redevelopment of its iconic art deco Brewhouse into a hub for the local creative and digital community.

EY Entrepreneur of the Year

The award is assessed on four main criteria:

• Entrepreneurial spirit, leadership and acting as a role model
• Financial Performance and business growth
• Strategic direction of the business
• Global and sustainable impact of entrepreneurial activity
• Innovation and future prospects of products or services

Mr Farrugia will be the sixth Maltese representative competing in the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award next June.

Previous winners of the Malta title include Alfred Pisani – Corinthia Group (2017), Angelo Xuereb – AX Holdings Ltd (2018), David Darmanin – Hotjar Ltd (2019), Nazzareno Vassallo – Vassallo Group (2021) and Mark Bajada – Bajada Investments (2022).