From baby to global player: Charles Scerri on merging, growing, and letting go

For Charles Scerri, one of the founding partners of CLA Malta, the recent merger and rebrand of CSA Group and CSA Global was not just a business move – it was a turning point in a 35-year journey of building, nurturing, and finally transforming the company he once started from scratch.

“We were a firm of 90 people, and at that size, you’re in a strange position – you’re neither too small nor quite big,” he told MaltaCEOs.mt. “So, you need to make a decision. Will I go smaller or bigger?”

For Mr Scerri, the answer was clear. “I started this practice. It’s like my baby. It would be difficult to make it smaller.” Instead, he opted for growth – a move that culminated in the creation of CLA Malta, part of a larger international network.

The decision to merge was strategic on several levels. Beyond the obvious financial advantages – such as reducing duplicated costs, particularly in areas like compliance – Mr Scerri pointed out that the merger gave the firm access to broader expertise and a stronger client base. “Some clients wouldn’t even look at us before because we were too small for them. Now, we give them that comfort.”

From an internal perspective, the transition was also about creating opportunities. “With a bigger firm, employees have more room to grow. That was very important to me,” he said.

Still, the transformation didn’t come without its challenges. Chief among them, according to Mr Scerri, was maintaining consistent and transparent communication with the team. “When there’s change, it’s only natural that people feel afraid or insecure,” he noted. “You can’t just explain once and think it’s done. You need to keep explaining what you’re doing, where you’re going – every day.”

That commitment to open communication was central in retaining talent and keeping morale high during the transition. “It’s all about making people feel they’re part of the journey.”

Reflecting on the emotional weight of watching his company evolve from a locally-rooted firm into part of a global network, Mr Scerri admitted it was “a mix of emotions.”

“There’s some regret,” he shared candidly. “When you’ve worked 35 years on your baby and suddenly it’s not yours anymore, that’s tough. But at the same time, you look at it and think – that baby’s becoming a teenager, a man. It’s growing up.”

He concluded with a firm belief in the necessity of evolution. “In this day and age, if you want to grow exponentially, you either go through a merger or an acquisition. That’s the reality.”