Franco Azzopardi takes the helm at JD Group

JD Capital plc, the finance arm of JD Group, has announced the appointment of Franco Azzopardi as Group CEO.

In a market update released on 12th June (today), the company said the change in senior management is meant to strengthen its corporate governance structure and further improve performance at the operational level.

JD Group took the decision “after the decades of success and growth of the Group under the executive leadership of Josef Dimech,” who has been involved in the family business since he was 16 and has overseen rapid expansion.

As a result of such appointment, Mr Dimech will be relinquishing his position as CEO of the JD Group, retaining his position as Executive Director of the Company, and will be responsible for business development in JD Operations Ltd.

Commenting on the appointment, the company said it is “confident that Mr Azzopardi’s experience and technical skills will add further strength to the management structure, business continuity, and good corporate governance of the JD Group.”

Mr Azzopardi, a Certified Public Accountant with a UK post-graduate MSc in Finance, spent over 25 years working in public practice, 10 of which with Deloitte Haskins and Sells and subsequently in a firm he co-founded in 1990.

In 2007 he exited the firm to focus on consultancy in the strategic direction of businesses. He specialises in corporate strategy, governance, risk and finance. He is a professional Director registered as a fellow member of the UK Institute of Directors, and has served on the board of directors, audit committees and risk committees of a number of regulated, listed and private companies in various sectors including banking, insurance, payments, software and logistics.

Mr Azzopardi served as director and Chairman of the Audit Committee and member of the Risk Committee of APS Bank from 2008 to 2023. He also served as Director, Chairman of the Audit Committee and member of the Risk Committee of Atlas Insurance from 2012 to 2022. He still holds the positions of director and chair of the Audit Committee of each of RS2 Software (since 2009), and of Grand Harbour Marina (since 2010).

He is also the former CEO of a leading logistics company in Malta, where, JD Group says, “he was instrumental in driving sustainable growth in shareholder value, enhancing stakeholder relations, and reorganising governance structures.”

Mr Azzopardi contributed towards the development of the Malta Institute of Accountants. He is a fellow member of the Institute having served on its council from 2007 until 2019. He was also elected and served as President of the Institute for the term 2015-2017.

The effective date of Mr Azzopardi’s appointment is 12th June 2023.

About JD Group

JD Operations Ltd, formerly JSDimech Ltd, is one of the market leaders in Malta for aluminium and steel apertures, wrought iron, large-scale glass formats, curtain wailing, and façade cladding, amongst other things.

Its portfolio includes some of Malta’s biggest projects, including high rise developments like the Quad, Tigné Point and Pender Gardens, and national projects like the Mġarr Sea Passenger Terminal and the Barrakka Lift in Valletta, among others.