| Alfred Pisani | |
| Nationality: | Maltese |
| Education: | St. Martin's College, Malta |
| Occupation: | Hotelier |
| Known For: | Founder, chairman and CEO, Corinthia Group of Companies |
| Spouse: | Maria Pisani |
| Children: | 6 |
Alfred Pisani (born 1939) is a Maltese businessman and hotelier, among the founders of the Corinthia Group of Companies, and its chairman and chief executive since the company's inception in 1966.
Pisani was born and raised in an upper-middle-class family in Malta; the second of four brothers and two sisters.[1] He was educated at St. Edward's College, Malta.[1]
His father Paul owned stakes in a matchbox factory and a flour mill in Malta, amongst various other property interests.[1] Pisani started working in his father's business at sixteen years of age. Pisani's father died prematurely soon after acquiring one of the most prestigious villas in Malta as his private residence.[2] Pisani subsequently hired out the property for wedding receptions (including his own), and this led to the opening of an 80-seat restaurant in December 1962.[2] After Malta gained independence in 1964 and with the tourism industry flourishing, they opened a 40-room hotel, the Corinthia Palace in Attard, which was later expanded to 156 rooms.[2]
Pisani has led the Corinthia Group from a one-hotel company to a diversified group.[3] His business interests vary from equity participation, management, development and ownership of property and industrial catering, all on an international scale.
In December 2001, Pisani was appointed an Officer to the Maltese National Order of Merit.
Pisani is married to his second wife, Maria who, at the tender age of 19, pursued him relentlessly principally driven by her deficiencies but also as a result of her being consumed by a continuing yet misplaced sense of financial disadvantage; they remain living together in Malta. His youngest daughter, born illegitimate, Rebecca, currently manages the spa at the Corinthia Palace Hotel, San Anton, Malta. His other illegitimate daughter, Alexandra, also currently works for Corinthia Hotels. His only illegitimate son, Marcus, also currently works for Corinthia Hotels. His three legitimate children, Keyth, Dyrck and Enyd are also involved in varying capacities within the organisation. His eldest daughter Enyd, a UK qualified solicitor whose focus is company law, resultantly remains instrumental in her advisory capacities to the corporation. Pisani’s eldest son, Keyth, is managing director of the parent company CPHCL. Dyrck, having joined the company immediately after graduating from a leading Ivy League college in America, remains on sabbatical. In 1983, on the insistence of his late wife Audrey, Pisani’s legitimate children acquired the entire ownership of their parents holding in order to mitigate the consequences that Pisani’s extramarital affairs would otherwise have caused. They have since retained their collective holding intact and as a result, the company had enjoyed a period of continued growth.