How she does it: Ann Fenech
Most people know who Ann Fenech is. She has built herself a reputation as one of Malta’s leading maritime lawyers. She spent some time in the political world and, most recently, she made it to Lloyd’s List of top 100 people . A mother to two boys, she talks about the importance of family and of pursuing what is important to you in life.
Who is Ann Fenech through our eyes?
Ann Fenech is a wife to Thomas, who is an ophthalmic surgeon, and mother to two grown up boys: Matthew, also an ophthalmologist and Thomas an architect who in turn is the husband of Kelly. Mat is the fiancé of Sarah. This is the basis and they are the foundation stones of my very existence.
On top of that, comes my passion for the maritime sector. As a result I have been a marine litigation lawyer for the best part of 38 years and I feel super privileged that, to this day, I love what I do and put my entire heart and soul into it.
Recently, I became more and more involved in the Comité Maritime International - the international organisation which drafts international maritime conventions and in October of 2022 they elected me president. This is a huge honour and I feel very humbled by it.
Work & career
What attracted you to your line of work?
I qualified as a lawyer in 1986 in Malta and my husband graduated as a medical doctor in the UK. We decided to marry and that I would join him in London.
Before that. I started to apply for jobs on the London market and was asked for an interview at the international shipping law firm of Holman, Fenwick and Willan and they offered me a job.
It was a very big deal for me. I was 24 years old, female and Maltese and, still, they gave me the opportunity of a life time. I learnt a great deal and had the privilege of assisting in landmark cases hitting the headlines of the international press. From there was born my love affair with the subject.
Then in 1991 Thomas wanted to subspecialise in vitreoretinal surgery in New Orleans and I was lucky it was New Orleans, the second largest port in the US. I was seconded from HFW to a firm called Chaffe MaCall Phillips Toler and Sarpy and that is where I really focused on salvage, towage and pilotage. Again, it was the opportunity of a lifetime.
The world you work in was, and possibly still is, a man's world. Did you ever feel this?
The God honest answer is “no”. I never felt troubled by the fact that - what was then even more than now, entirely a “man’s world” was indeed that – a man’s world. It did not make the slightest bit of difference to me and I never, ever thought about it. I never thought about it when I was 24, 34, 44, or 54 – and I am not 64 yet!
That is probably entirely due to my upbringing and I have my parents to thank for that. I was brought up in a relatively traditional household where my dad was a doctor and my mum always supported him and was there for us. However, there was never any form of conversation which would “warn” me about the trials and tribulations of being a woman working in a man’s world.
Inside the Um El Faroud in 1994.
The coaching I received was sheer encouragement to pursue my dreams and to do the best to my ability - whatever that was. So when I was out in the work place, male or female never came into the equation as far as I was concerned.
I sent out the message that if any male was going to have any funny ideas of attempting to bully me or be foolish, then it was a waste of his time! So I can say hand on heart that I never ever felt “different” simply because I was a woman or “threatened” professionally in any way.
Motherhood
Back then you made a choice that was rare amongst women: to work while raising kids.
Throughout my 6 year LLD course at university, it never crossed my mind that I would not work. That is exactly why I had pursued the law course - to work as a lawyer. I had also, however, been raised in a traditional family of mother, father and sister and I was blessed to have had a wonderful childhood full of great, warm, character-building moments. So that is what I wanted to do – have a career and have a family too.
In the meantime, after my husband and I got married and we lived together in London, I had already been working in the City of London for 5 years as a marine litigation lawyer before Matthew was born. That was 1991 and in London most professional ladies took their (very short then ) maternity leave and continued working. It was the normal thing to do for both Thomas and I and, thus, it was quite natural for me to continue working. Matthew was looked after by a carer whilst I was at work.
“I make no qualms about the fact that my husband and the boys always came first and foremost – I have enjoyed and enjoy every moment of this important role and feel that we are truly privileged as women to be able to fulfil this fundamental role.”
I have never stopped working to this day. When I then had Tom in Malta, I maintained the same pattern. I was fortunate to be able to have help in the house and so the children were looked after whilst I was at work till they were old enough to go to school. I would take them to school every morning and that was very important because, in the 20 minutes it would take to get there, I would know exactly what was going on in their life. I make no qualms about the fact that my husband and the boys always came first and foremost – I have enjoyed and enjoy every moment of this important role and feel that we are truly privileged as women to be able to fulfil this fundamental role.
We talk about motherhood and career - but there is more to life. How do you go about fitting everything else in?
When we speak about motherhood and a career – I can vouch for the fact that it is indeed possible. I am not saying it is easy – it most certainly is not, especially if you are a control freak like me. It comes with a great deal of discipline for you and for those around you. And determination.
However, if that is what you want then my advice is “go for it.” It also means that, no, I did not have time for myself as such. Forget sports, forget gym, forget meeting girlfriends. Yes, I had to give that up, but that is the life I chose for myself and it gave me a great deal of satisfaction.
“There is a choice to be made. It is equally okay to be a full-time stay at home mum. That too is a choice and, if that choice is the preferred choice and gives you the fulfilment you wish, then that is okay too.”
My hobbies became picking up the boys from football three times a week, getting totally absorbed by their games, by their needs, their games became my games and it was great fun! It was okay. I did not stop and feel sorry for myself because I did not have time to go to the gym or play tennis.
I preferred to follow the children after office hours and that was okay and, in so doing, I made other friends. But the reality is you cannot do everything and you have a choice. I feel I need to underline that there is a choice to be made. It is equally okay to be a full-time stay at home mum. That too is a choice and, if that choice is the preferred choice and gives you the fulfilment you wish, then that is okay too.
Aiming high
You recently made it to Lloyd’s List top 100 people for helping raise the profile of the Comité Maritime International, which you preside. What does this mean to you?
I must admit that being listed in “Lloyd’s List Top 100 The most influential people in the shipping industry,” for two years in a row is one of the highlights of my career. If you leaf through this publication you will see the world’s top ship owners, ship yard operators, regulators etc – so it’s a pretty important publication. To be there amongst this group is for me a very significant honour.
As a marine litigation lawyer for 38 years, and now president of the Comité Maritime International, I would like to dedicate this to all the hard work which various members of the CMI have contributed since the inception of the CMI in 1897.
Addressing the signing ceremony of the UN Convention on the international effects of Judicial Sales of Ships in Beijing.
The CMI remains as relevant today as it was then and my job has been and remains to ensure that the Comité remains at the forefront of international maritime development. High on our agenda going forward will be the production of guidelines, laws, conventions on the current topics dominating international maritime trade such as decarbonisation, fraudulent activity and fraudulent registries, the unfair treatment of seafarers etc.
“It is okay not to feel you know it all, it is okay to keep on learning. It keeps you on your toes and it encourages you to set a higher bar for yourself.”
Of course the latest accolade of CMI was the successful conclusion of the Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships which was signed in Beijing in September of last year. This is a very important convention for purchasers of ships in judicial sales and important for Malta where quite a significant number of judicial sales are held.
What were/are the largest obstacles and rewards to your career path? Does it "get easier" as you progress?
I am not particularly keen on the word “obstacles” – I am an optimist so I prefer the word “challenges”. The largest challenge was ensuring I was doing the best by my clients and by my family. That is the largest challenge for any working mum. It certainly got easier as they got older and once they were out of the house that challenge was overcome.
I have been fortunate enough to have several rewards in my career path. These included being directly involved in some of the most interesting maritime cases over the past 38 years. When I first came to Malta there was the case of the Um El Faroud [in 1995 the Libyan tanker blew up and nine dockyard workers were killed]. I was acting for the owners. There were many other cases - like the privatisation of the dockyards as well as countless collisions and casualties off Malta - with one of the latest involving me acting for Enemalta in the case of the Chem P which dragged its anchor over the Enemalta interconnector. I also represented Tug Malta in salvaging the Chem P and stopping it from going aground.
Other rewards included: having the trust and respect of so many varied clients, having the great fortune of having a hugely encouraging and supporting husband, having the fortune of being part of a great team at work with whom I share my daily life and without whose support and patience things would not have panned out the same way, whilst at the same time having the satisfaction of having raised, together with my husband, what I believe to be two level headed and grounded men, hard working with sound moral values, and who both became professionals in their own right fully respectful of others.
Reflections & advice
What advice would you give to women trying to pursue their passion/ a career they love?
Put succinctly my advice would be: Decide what you want and what is important to your life and pursue your dreams – where there is a will there is always a way. The latter remains my most favourite motto.
From the outside you seem to be a very confident women. Do you get moments when you doubt yourself? How do you get through this?
I think it is very important for people to distinguish between: “Thinking you are not up to something” and “questioning whether you are as prepared as you should be to do something.”
The first is uncertainty about your ability. The second is uncertainty about the extent of your preparedness. Personally speaking I have never attempted to do anything which at the outset was outside my comfort zone or in an area which is not my area. I have often refused work and referred work to others if the work was not within my area of expertise.
Ann Fenech’s appointment as president of the CMI in October 2022
Questioning whether you are as prepared as you should be on the other hand, is I think a very natural and normal feeling particularly with people who are indeed well prepared. It is only when you are truly well prepared that you can visualise and imagine all the things which you are not prepared for. Normally, persons who are not well prepared, think they know it all.
It is okay not to feel you know it all, it is okay to keep on learning. It keeps you on your toes and it encourages you to set a higher bar for yourself. I have been working for 38 years and I can say, hand on heart, that I learn something new every day.
Where do you stand in the “equality” and “gender” debate?
I think it is truly sad and depressing that in 2024 the entire planet is still talking about the need for equality. Equality is so very obvious and, in my case, it never for one moment crossed my mind that I was not equal to a similarly qualified male. Never. Does this mean that in 38 years there was never a single time when perhaps other males tried to imply or acted as though that equality was not there?
The answer to that question is that probably there were a number of instances. However my brain is wired up in such a way that I would simply disregard such behaviour and pretend it was simply not there. That type of behaviour is the behaviour resorted to by a bully and the bully, like the playground bully, feeds on attention. So I would simply ignore this type of behaviour and move on.
“Girls need to be raised in an environment where there is no distinction between boys and girls and that they be encouraged to pursue their dreams and to work hard to achieve their ambitions and same goes for boys.”
What I do believe is fundamental, however, is the raising of our children with the right perspective to life. Raising them with equality firmly established. This applies to raising both boys and girls. Girls need to be raised in an environment where there is no distinction between boys and girls and that they be encouraged to pursue their dreams and to work hard to achieve their ambitions and same goes for boys.
My fear is that, in a number of instances, girls are raised in an environment where it is their own family who fails to encourage them to pursue their dreams purely because they are girls. Boys need to be raised by parents who do not distinguish between roles for boys and roles for girls. I believe that co-ed schools are hugely important and make a very valuable contribution to the debate. So the bottom line is that the key to achieving true equality is in the education of our children. Education from age 0.
This is because, clearly there is still a need. We need to eradicate stupidity and false beliefs and set things right. Education is key.
How she does it…
We often look on at other people in awe and ask ourselves: How does she do it? How does she find the time? How does she find the willpower?
Women Unclouded believes that, by sharing our stories, women can inspire one another - to take the leap, make that call, book that class. A leap towards doing what you really want to do or being who you really want to be. It does not have to be something extraordinary. It just needs to be special for you.
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