The Gibraltar International Bank has today confirmed the retirement of its Chief Executive Officer, Lawrence Podesta, on 28 February 2023.
In 2014 His Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar decided to set up a Bank in Gibraltar to meet the needs and demands of the local community. Minister Albert Isola MP was responsible for making this policy a reality, and Lawrence Podesta was immediately appointed as the Banks first employee and CEO, tasked with creating the Bank from scratch.
Lawrence is the architect of the Bank we see today, having designed and built every aspect of the Banks platform, systems, and personnel. He has developed a team of professionals delivering a quality of service that Gibraltar can be rightly proud of. The Bank, wholly owned by the people of Gibraltar, is managed by its Executive team and its Board of Directors, wholly independent of the Government, as was promised at the time.
Under his careful stewardship, the Bank has met and exceeded all expectations and quickly surpassed the targets set in the initial business plan. Lawrence was headhunted by HMGOG as a result of his vast banking experience, having worked in banking all his professional life, spanning some 47 years.
He is highly regarded as a Banking professional, uniquely having detailed knowledge of all aspects of a Bank’s operation and systems. This made him the perfect target for Government in its search for the Bank’s first CEO.
Chairman Albert Langston commented, “We extend to Lawrence, who will now join the Board of the Bank as a non-executive director, all our very best wishes in his retirement. We would like to take this opportunity to thank him publicly for his absolute commitment, professionalism, and dedication to the Bank during his tenure as our CEO. It has been a privilege working with him.”
Lawrence Podesta commented, “It has been an immense privilege to set up a retail bank from inception in my hometown as Chief Executive Officer and lead it for nine years. I will always be grateful to Minister Albert Isola for having offered me the opportunity of a lifetime and being able to embark on this fascinating project. I am most grateful to the Chairman and Board of Directors for their support and guidance over the years. They have been a pillar of strength for me. It has been an enormous challenge, one which I have thoroughly enjoyed and one which I have faced with a remarkable group of professionals in my Senior Management team. I wish to thank them for their outstanding contribution to the development of the Bank and their unwavering support and commitment to making a success of it, and to all staff members for their hard work over the years.”
Lawrence Podesta added, “I would like to thank the people of Gibraltar for having supported our community bank from the day we opened for business, and it gives me great comfort that upon my retirement, the Bank is in a position of strength, offering a wide variety of retail banking products to over 20,000 clients, a deposit base of £1.2 billion and a loan book of £335 million. I am proud of the support that we have given the community. The Bank will always hold a special place in my heart, and I will continue to give it my full support in my new role as a Non-Executive Director. I welcome Peter Horton to Gibraltar and wish him every success in his new role as Chief Executive Officer of Gibraltar International Bank”.
Minister Isola, who recruited Mr Podesta, commented, “It was abundantly clear to me in 2014 that Lawrence had all of the expertise and skills we required to head the team setting up the Bank and subsequently running it as its first CEO. Lawrence has demonstrated his complete commitment to the position of CEO, and as a community, we are indebted to him for setting up the Bank and securing its future for generations to come. His contribution to the Bank has been truly exceptional. I am immensely proud of what Lawrence and his team at the Bank have been able to achieve. Lawrence is a formidable professional, and we shall certainly miss him.”
Following an extensive selection process, the Bank has appointed Mr Peter Horton as the new CEO to succeed Lawrence. Mr Horton who will assume his post on 1 February 2023, is a career banker and has considerable and relevant experience in the United Kingdom and other jurisdictions.
