Carlo Aquilina deftly manages the dual responsibilities of CCSO and CIO, each with its distinct challenges and objectives to drive innovation and corporate responsibility within the Group. In his capacity as CCSO, Carlo’s primary mission is to align the support functions offered by Vassallo Group with its overarching goals. He feels this role is essential for maintaining the Group’s overall health, efficiency, compliance and reputation. As CIO, he spearheads the Group’s digital initiatives, pushing the boundaries of technology and fostering innovation.
“The role of CIO has evolved significantly in recent years, moving beyond merely managing the IT Infrastructure to becoming a strategic business partner,” he says. “In the role of CIO, I am involved in driving innovation, digital transformation and helping the Group adapt to the changing tech landscape. The role of CCSO consumes most of my time, however, I have my mind at rest when it comes to IT as this is manned by a very talented team.” The convergence of these two roles is evident in their shared commitment to communication, collaboration, and aligning goals across multiple facets, such as IT services, security, risk management, policy development, and digital transformation.
This synergy is a cornerstone of Vassallo Group’s efficient operation and forward-looking approach. Carlo also oversees the Group’s commitment to embrace Environment, Social, and Governance factors as project leader. ESG embodies the Group’s commitment to responsible business practices and sustainability. “Our ESG implementation strategy is well structured, involving phases such as assessment and commitment, decarbonisation initiatives, taxonomy assessment, and ESRS implementation. Our goal is to promote sustainability and responsible business practices that create long-term value for all stakeholders, including shareholders, employees and the environment, while minimising negative impacts,” he says.
Reflecting on the journey, Carlo acknowledges the significant challenges his team has confronted and surmounted. Migrating the entire Group to the cloud within six months and maintaining cybersecurity and data privacy compliance have been formidable undertakings. Carlo highlights the resilient teamwork that powered the successful execution of these projects. One common challenge the team faces is the rapidly evolving technological landscape, which necessitates keeping the Group’s
workforce skilled and aligned.
“Still, as significant as the challenges might be, we always collaborate as a Group through effective leadership and strategic planning and make sure these ‘challenges’ – actually I prefer the word ‘opportunities’ – are successfully achieved.”