James Portelli, a veteran insurance broker with over 35 years’ experience in the financial sector, speaks about the importance of building winning teams, and how his most recent consulting role at Argus has led him to confirm this belief.

“It’s always been a mantra of mine to build teams so strong that an outsider does not really know who the boss is”, Mr Portelli stated.

Mr Portelli highlighted how the company’s technical teams have matured “from persons requesting individual guidance every step of the way to a formidable team that only walks in occasionally to bounce off a thought, or for a four-eyes review on their own decisions.”

Commending the underwriting, claims and admin teams at Argus, Mr Portelli says he has also seen them go from strength to strength this past year, adding that it is “all to [their] credit”.

As he marks the end of his one-year consultancy contract with with Argus, Mr Portelli claims that “it has been a pleasure working with the team in Malta and an absolute satisfaction to see some of you develop professionally”.

“We are in a better place than we were one year ago, and I’m sure that you will use this as a platform to grow the company even more,” he affirmed.

In 1997, Mr Portelli founded his own consulting practice, nowadays known as Portelli & Associates.

He serves as Non-Executive Director and Chairman on a portfolio of licensed insurance undertakings, and as Chair and Member on Risk Management and Compliance, Technical, Executive, and Audit Board Committees. He is also President of the Malta Insurance Institute, a position he has held since January 2014. The Argus Group is the collective name for Argus Group Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries: a multi-line insurance and financial services organisation offering a full range of insurance, pensions and investment products targeted at local and international organisations and individuals.