Matthew Caruana Smith

Council Member Of Association

I started my career at a very young age in a well renowned four-star hotel in St. Julians. I immediately cherished the catering industry and held various positions at the hotel restaurant.

The experience gathered led me to accept a job offer as a food and beverage attendant at the Hilton Malta, which at the time, had one of the largest operations on the island. The position proved to be remarkably interesting and encouraged me to further widen my knowledge by enrolling myself in a food and beverage operation course at the Institute of Tourism Studies. The latter was indeed the most influential stepping stone in my progress, as it led me towards starting a career in management when I got promoted to bars manager.

Following 8 successful years of service at the Hilton Malta, I moved on to join the Xara Palace Malta as an operations manager for the duration of 4 years. This position provided me with further insights of how a business works, rooms division management and the overall operations of a hotel and catering establishment from a decision-making point of view. During this time, I received my MSc in Leadership and Organisation Behaviour from Dublin City University with the aim of strengthening my academic background.

Subsequently, I accepted the position of General Manager in a property management company. This led me to gain experience in setting-up new properties for tourists as well as negotiating new contracts for the duration of 2 years.

After gaining such positive experiences, knowledge, and academic wealth, I was offered to join Mizzi Organisation in the capacity of General Manager of Is-Suq tal-Belt, where I have been leading a team as well coordinating the full running of the property for the past 4 years.