At this week’s AGM Stephen Reyes, managing partner of Deloitte, was unanimously elected President of the Gibraltar Society of Chartered and Certified Accountancy Bodies taking over from Jose Julio Pisharello who completed the maximum two year term permitted by the Society’s rules.

Stephen takes over the helm in what is expected to be a period of great change for the accountancy profession locally with the introduction of the Auditors Approval and Registration Act which will
see supervision of auditors for the first time and with the tax reform imminent.

Stephen commented  “I am honoured and enthusiastic to be taking over at such an exciting time for the accountancy profession. I have a great team working with me in the newly elected executive committee and in the specialist sub-committees and I look forward to ensuring that the accountancy profession’s viewpoint is heard and in assisting with Gibraltar’s continued development as a finance centre both in my role as President and through our membership of the Gibraltar Finance Centre Council”.

On being elected, Stephen praised the work done by the outgoing President who led the Society admirably over the last two years. Jose Julio has not only been instrumental in ensuring the European led changes affecting auditors were clearly understood by all but has also been heavily involved in assisting Government in legislating for them. In his outgoing speech, Jose Julio set out the various areas that the Society had been involved in during his term.

Apart from the changes relating to the supervision of auditors, the upcoming tax reforms were also an area that had occupied a substantial portion of his time. “For the continued prosperity of the Finance Centre, the key point is for Gibraltar to be removed from any lists which labels us directly or indirectly as a tax haven”, stressed Jose Julio.

Aside from the election of Stephen as President, Freddie White was elected Vice-president; Jon Tricker was elected Secretary/Treasurer and Colin Vaughan, Ian Collinson and Desiree McHard were elected to the executive committee.

Local law firm Verralls Barristers and Solicitors are proud to announce the appointment of Chris Miles as a partner of the firm. Chris joins John Verrall and Craig Fortunato who are the firm’s partners.

Chris joined Verralls in September 2004 and shortly after he was called to the Supreme Court of Gibraltar as a barrister by John Verrall. Chris’s typical areas of practice include Commercial law, Conveyancing and Civil and Criminal litigation. Most notably, Chris has experience of conducting an appeal before the Court of Appeal for Gibraltar and has seven Supreme Court Jury trials under his belt. The partners are delighted to welcome Chris on board.

The appointment of a new British Airways Airport Manager for Gibraltar has finally materialized with Rocio Fernandez taking the reigns in the British Airways Gibraltar office from August.

Rocio has been the Airport Manager in Alicante since 2008, where she successfully established and led the British Airways operations as well as developing highly collaborative and professional relationships with key agencies and service providers.

When asked about her new position in Gibraltar Rocio commented “ After having worked in Alicante for the last year, it is with great pleasure that I have moved further south and closer to my origins. The people of Gibraltar have warmly welcomed me and I am looking forward to working and making this my home.”

As British Airways are preparing for the Gibraltar route to move to Heathrow in October 2009, Rocio’s appointment has been crucial in its timing. With the depth of experience gained from working at Alicante, and at a number of other airports, Rocio will play a key role in building on Gibraltar’s established quality, and in leading the station through the challenges of the future.

Brian Callaghan the organiser of the Gibtelecom International Chess Festival is pleased to advise that Alice Mascarenhas has accepted the position of Press Officer to this prestigious world chess event.

Alice will join a secretariat team of 15 officials responsible for the technical direction of the tournament drawn from some six different countries.

Alice has over 30 years experience in the media working as a broadcaster and journalist in Gibraltar. She is currently the Features Editor of the Gibraltar Chronicle, and presents a weekly programme, ‘Centre Stage’, on the local station Radio Gibraltar now in its 13th year.

She will be supported by others reporting for various countries including the UK, Germany, France, the USA, and the Indian continent.

The tournament to be held in 2010 starting on the 26 January and finishing on the 4 February is already attracting a strong entry. Humpy Koneru, the second highest rated woman player in the world and only the second female player ever to obtain a 2600 rating, has confirmed her attendance.

International cartilage transplant expert Dr Allan Larsen, (Specialist Knee and Foot Orthopaedic Surgeon) joins the Specialist Medical Group in Gibraltar.

The Specialist Medical Clinic is pleased to announce that Dr Allan Larsen of Marbella High Care Hospital (www.marbellahighcare.com) has joined the Specialist Medical Group and will be available for consultations at the Specialist Medical Clinic, 1st Floor, ICC Building from the 30th September 2009.

Dr Larsen trained in Denmark and Liverpool, qualifying as a specialist in 2002. Prior to moving to Marbella in 2006, Dr Larsen was the senior orthopaedic surgeon at Aalborg University Hospital where he became a world leader in the field of Autologous Cartilage Transplantation (ACT) and head
of the university’s cartilage research unit. He returns to Denmark every 6 weeks to continue his work on developing new keyhole techniques for performing ACT to treat serious degenerative (arthritic) or traumatic (sports related) knee cartilage defects. Dr Larsen has written a number of academic papers and is a frequently invited speaker at international conferences.

He now runs his highly successful private clinical service at the Marbella High Care Hospital in Puerto Banus and the Specialist Medical Clinic in Gibraltar (www.smg.gi).

Dr Larsen offers a full orthopaedic service but has a specialist interest in knee and foot surgery. He works closely with a number of experts on the Costa del Sol including Dr Wolfgang Schmidt who is a specialist in shoulder disease. For major procedures, Dr Larsen operates at the Marbella High Care Hospital, in Puerto Banus.

Mr Deardon, Consultant General Surgeon and Managing Director of the Specialist Medical Clinic said, “We are delighted that Dr Larsen has chosen to join the Specialist Medical Clinic to establish his practice in Gibraltar. As an international expert in his field, he brings expertise currently unavailable in Gibraltar. He will work closely with our excellent clinical team at the clinic to strengthen our company’s reputation for providing the best specialist clinical expertise to the fee paying and non-entitled residents of Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar area”.

Appointments to see Dr Larsen can be made by phoning the clinic on 200 49999 or e-mail enquiries to reception@smg.gi.

Wanda Bush has joined the MH Bland team by taking over as Commercial Manager of the Cable Car.

No sooner had her feet touched the ground when she was asked to organise the historic Trilateral Forum of Dialogue on Gibraltar followed shortly thereafter by a function for Sir Alex Ferguson, CBE, Manager of Manchester United FC.

Wanda’s role will be to further develop this unique attraction as the venue for corporate events, weddings and celebrations while at the same time ensuring that the many tourists visiting this spectacular facility continue to enjoy their experience. After a couple of months at the helm “I wanted a challenge and a change in pace, and I can’t say that I’ve been disappointed. It’s been a whirl-wind start to my new career and I’m thrilled to be joining MH Bland as they move towards their 200th anniversary”.

Tom Gladdis, a Gibraltar resident, is competing in the 2009 FIA Formula Two Championship and has become the series’ youngest driver.

British driver Gladdis joins Formula Two after finishing sixth in the Star Mazda Championship in North America. Gladdis took one victory, two pole positions and three podiums in just 10 races

Tom Gladdis said: “I’m particularly looking forward to competing at Spa-Francorchamps for the first time as it is a circuit at which I have always dreamt of racing.”

Jonathan Palmer, Chief Executive of championship organiser MotorSport Vision, said: “Tom has had a rapid rise through the ranks following his discovery by BMW in late 2006, and despite his lack of experience he was a genuine contender for the Star Mazda Championship in only his second season of racing. Whilst F2 is a considerable step up for Tom, there’s no doubting that he is a very talented young driver, and there’s every chance he could be one of the surprise packages of the 2009 season.”

The season starts with Brno then Spa and Brands Hatch followed by Donington Park and then on to Imola Italy then Germany, Barcelona and Spain.

Eurosport are covering all the events LIVE and paying particular interest to Gladdis. Gladdis has two races per week one Saturday and one Sunday that’s Over 1 hour and a half of TV coverage over a weekend.