Atlas Insurance and Farsons Group have mourned the loss of one of their own, Bryan Gera, who passed away at the age of 89 on Friday 20th October.

Mr Gera was described as a great proponent of business education and philanthropy. The insurance company said that he was the force behind the focus on business education at the Malta Chamber during his association with the institution.

Mr Gera joined the board of Formosa & Camilleri upon the merger of Alfred Formosa & Sons and Walter Camilleri Limited in 1981, as the first Non-Executive Director in the Group’s history. Eventually, with the mergers that followed in 1998 and 2000, Atlas Insurance Agency was formed, later known as Atlas Insurance Limited. Mr Gera remained on the board during that time.

He came from a very solid commercial background which he developed in his family’s business, Alfred Gera and Sons, an established pharmaceuticals importing company. He even continued to contribute in his family business until recently.

“Mr Gera brought his level-headedness, wide experience of various industries and inimitable wit to our board assisting in moving the company forward through its transformation into an insurance company and the setting up of the new board structure with a majority of independent non-executive directors in 2014, when he resigned from the board,” Atlas Insurance explained.

Mr Gera was also a long-serving Director of the Farsons Board, from 1980 to 2011. In 1986, he was appointed to represent public shareholding of the Simonds Farsos Cisk (SFC) plc Board and was later appointed Chairman in 1995, a role he held up to his retirement in 2011. After that, he was also appointed Honorary President.

Farsons said that besides being a colleague-director for all these years, “Mr Gera will be remembered with great fondness and deep respect for having led the board during times of challenging investment decisions which have contributed significantly to the growth of Farsons and the realisation of our vision. We have benefited from these decisions and the group is indebted to Bryan Gera for his steady hand at the helm during these times.”

Bryan Gera was also Chairman of the Farsons Foundation for many years, keen to support initiatives and causes and taking a personal interest on various occasions. Farsons added that he will also be remembered for his wisdom, his integrity and his inspiration but also for his refined wit, his jovial character and his ability as an enthralling storyteller who took the time to take a personal interest in those around him.