JA Malta CEO Matthew Caruana’s 2023 was ‘amazing, inspiring, and challenging’, all at the same time

JA Malta Foundation CEO Matthew Caruana has summed up 2023 as a year that proved to be “challenging”, yet it also brought various events that were both “amazing” and “inspiring”.

Reflecting as part of MaltaCEOs.mt’s end-of-year series, Mr Caruana, who has led the  entrepreneurship education non-profit organisation since 2022, acknowledged that the past year has been a memorable one.

This was culminated by the decision from JA Europe to unanimously approve his nomination to serve as Chairperson of JA Europe’s Board of Executives. He was also named Board Member of JA Europe.

JA Malta is a member of JA Worldwide, providing hands-on, experiential learning in entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy. It seeks to give students pathways for employability, job creation, and financial success. JA Europe is the European arm of JA Worldwide.

Mr Caruana first joined JA Malta in 2016, serving as Business Mentor for four years, back when it was still known as Junior Achievement Young Enterprise (JAYE) Malta.

While the past year has been largely positive for him, Mr Caruana still has some key areas he wants to address from a personal basis in 2024.

What 3 words would you use to sum up your 2023?

2023 was amazing, inspiring, and challenging at the same time.

What personal accomplishment from the past year are you most proud of?

Personally, I would say being voted unanimously as the Chair of the Board of Executives for JA Europe and for the organisation it has to be winning the JA Europe Bata Quality Award from amongst 43 countries for the first time.

What are you most grateful for this year?

I’m grateful for life and for the way things are at the moment.

How are you going to spend the New Year?

I’m not sure yet. This is typically the time where I manage to take a break and spend it quietly relaxing.

What are the biggest opportunities and challenges you believe 2024 will bring?

I think the biggest challenge will be to maintain this level of growth and positive trend in my life.

The opportunity is to continue learning, developing and making an impact.

Is there a particular skill you’d like to develop in the new year?

Re-learn the skill of time management in my current situation as it feels like it’s getting a bit out of hand.

Is there something you’d like to change about your daily routine?

Try to increase exercise and more me-time.

Where do you see yourself in a year’s time?

My plan is to consolidate some things this year, so not much different then today to be honest. I will also try hard to keep things going the way they are, while developing in a world of constant change.