[WATCH]: Air Malta defends Peter Davies

Air Malta issued the following statement

Air Malta points out that:

- Paul Simons has not introduced FutureBrand to Air Malta and was not involved in the branding of the aircraft promoting Valletta. He is not engaged on a €20,000 a month contract and has was not involved in recruiting Melinda Kecskes as General Manager Marketing at Air Malta.

- Air Malta has appointed FutureBrand as branding consultants. This appointment will focus on the airline’s rebranding and repositioning whilst determining the new creative and communications strategies to improve its product proposition. Air Malta must differentiate itself from others within the current market environment and ensure that it is sufficiently attractive enough to customers whilst meeting its revenue targets. This is imperative due to the ever growing competition from other international airlines.

- FutureBrand has the experience of having worked for some major international airlines with similar issues. Their track record and expertise is fundamental for Air Malta, and, after due consideration, the Board of Directors has approved their appointment within the internal governance rules established by the Board in line with internationally accepted governance and fiscal standards.

- Peter Davies was for a brief period of time the non executive Chairman of Catalise Plc (UK). He has relinquished this post in 2010. He was never a shareholder or held a beneficial interest in Catalise.

- The professional services contract with Air Malta is with Catalise Pty Ltd (Australia) in relation to which Mr Davies has never had any relationship of any kind.

- In 2007 when Peter Davies was Chief Executive of British West Indian Airways (BWIA), he had asked Trinidad and Tobago Senator Mark Wade to repeat the allegation that he was the owner of Catalise Plc out of Parliament. This is was never done and no legal action could be pursued due to ‘parliamentary privilege’.

- Catalise Pty Ltd (Australia) were introduced to Air Malta’s Board of Director by Mr Davies. Following a rigorous assessment of their credentials they were appointed by the Air Malta Board to support the turnaround of the airline’s financial performance.

- At the time of their appointment Mr Davies had no financial interest in or any position with Catalise Ltd or Catalise Pty Ltd. and still does not. Mr Davies gains no financial benefit from the appointment of Catalise and any suggestion of such is categorically incorrect.

- Way back in June 2011 Air Malta has explained that it has, “… engaged Catalise, a company an international company with significant experience in restructuring with whom Mr Davies has already worked successfully in the restructuring of Brussels Airlines and Caribbean Airlines. As part of this assignment, Ray Hart and Neale Anderson - who are both directors of Catalise - have been brought over as Chief Restructuring Officer and as Human Resources advisor respectively. Neither Mr Hart nor Mr Anderson are employees of the airline but are working with the airline on an interim basis during this sensitive period and bring much needed experience to the task at hand. Air Malta intends to recruit full time local personnel to fill both posts. Air Malta stressed that it is public knowledge that Mr Davies has worked closely with Catalise before on successful restructuring projects and this should be considered as a positive attribute. It is not unusual that successful teams reunite.”

- Inline with its stated commitment to employ Maltese personnel to top management positions within the airline, last November Air Malta appointed Joshua Zammit to take over and spearhead the airline’s human resources and organisational development department.

- Air Malta’s restructuring exercise is extremely complex and it is imperative that careful decisions are taken and that the financial targets in the plan submitted for approval to the EU Commission are met.

- Air Malta will be publishing its preliminary financial results for the year ending 31 March 2012 within the next few weeks thus enabling the public at large to be able to continue to follow the progress being achieved.

maltastar.com Wednesday 09 May 2012

Peter A Davies and the ownership of Catalise

On Tuesday, February 27, 2007, the following discussion took place in the parliament of Trinidad and Tobago on the role of Peter Anthony Davies and Catalise Plc contracted to restructure British West Indian Airways (BWIA) that was eventually closed down and re-launched as Caribbean Airlines (CAL).

Senator Mark Wade asked Finance Minister Conrad Enill: “I would like to ask the Hon. Minister to indicate whether he is aware that Catalise Plc is owned by Mr Peter Davies, Chief Executive Officer, and whether he is aware of the ownership of Catalise Plc, the team is closely associated to a gentleman called Peter Davies, and whether in that context he does not perceive this particular relationship as a conflict of interest.”

In Trinidad and Tobago after being appointed CEO of BWIA and then CAL Peter Davies engaged the services of Catalise plc for a contract worth millions of dollars. (Up to December 31, 2006 Catalise plc got US$2.5 million.)

The Catalise team in Trinidad and Tobago included Ray Hart, Neale Anderson, David Wallace and Augusto Vianson-Ponte. Other consultants were Ben Leon and Cagney/CMG.

All of these have resurfaced in Malta since Peter Anthony Davies was appointed Air Malta’s CEO. Air Malta has also contracted Catalise plc.

Last June Minister Tonio Fenech who is responsible for Air Malta said that Air Malta had engaged Catalise to help in the management of the restructuring of Air Malta. The value of Catalise Ltd’s contract has not been made public.

Last June Air Malta said that “Following the appointment of Peter Davies as CEO in mid-April, the airline decided to engage Catalise.” Air Malta also said: “It is public knowledge that Mr Davies has worked closely with Catalise before on successful restructuring projects and this should be considered as a positive attribute. It is not unusual that successful teams reunite.”

Neither Minister Tonio Fenech nor Air Malta said that Peter Davies has not only “worked closely with Catalise” but was mentioned as being the owner of Catalise plc in a parliamentary sitting in Trinidad and Tobago and according to Company House records in the UK is listed as having served as director of Catalise Plc for a number of years.

After being appointed Air Malta’s CEO, Peter Anthony Davies has taken a number of major decisions endorsed by Air Malta’s Board of Directors and Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi’s cabinet that are generating very profitable business for Catalise Ltd. Whatever happens to Air Malta and its employees in the coming years, Davies, Catalise Ltd and other consultants engaged by them are going to leave Malta with lots more money than when they arrived.