Behind the boardroom confidence, CEOs are juggling competing demands. So, we asked five of Malta’s business leaders what keeps them up at night. Their candid answers reveal the tensions, trade-offs and frustrations influencing leadership in 2026 – from AI disruption and workforce strain to bureaucracy, cash flow and changing regulations.
Here's what Lift Services Ltd CEO Alexander Chetcuti had to say.
What keeps you awake at night as a CEO in Malta right now?
Making sure we don’t waste momentum. We have a strong base in Malta and a growing presence in North Africa, so my focus is on scaling sustainably, protecting cash flow and keeping standards high as volume increases.
What’s the one business risk you’re most worried about in 2026?
Over-exposure to a small and cyclical local construction market. That’s why we’re pushing harder on diversification across products, services and regions.
If you could change one thing about Malta’s business environment tomorrow, what would it be?
Simplify and speed up bureaucracy around permits and regulation. The country would gain a lot if more of our time went into building teams and serving customers, rather than chasing approvals.
What’s one thing about your business or team that you’re particularly grateful for right now?
Loyalty. We have people who’ve been with the company for more than 30 years. We even have a three-generation story – a grandfather who retired after a long career with us, his son who’s been here 25 years and now his grandson for five. That level of commitment says a lot about the culture we protect.
If you had to name one word that describes your biggest challenge, what would it be?
Balance.
Apart from Alexander Chetcuti, MaltaCEOs.mt also spoke to Harald Roesch (CEO of Melita), Cenk Kahraman (CEO of Finance Incorporated Ltd), James Cassar (Managing Director of 242 Group), and Josef Siad (CEO of Konnekt) on this subject. All interviews can be found on our website.
This forms part of a feature first published on Malta CEOs 2026, the sister print brand to MaltaCEOs.mt, both owned by Content House.
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