World Diamond Council (WDC) has elected a new board of directors.
Comprising 20 members, the board’s representation is equally distributed among five diamond industry sectors, reflecting the geographical diversity of the supply chain.
The following are the newly elected directors:
Extraction (mining) of diamonds
• Andrey Polyakov, Alrosa Group
• Andrew Bone, De Beers Group
• James R.W. Pounds, Dominion Diamonds Corp.
• Jean-Marc Lieberherr, Rio Tinto Diamonds NV
Retail sale of diamonds or diamond jewellery
• Kent Wong, Chow Tai Fook
• Roberto Coin, Roberto Coin SpA
• Mark Jenkins, Signet Jewelers Ltd.
• Ronnie VanderLinden, U.S. Coalition
Wholesale trading of diamonds
• Stephane Fischler, Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC)
• Anoop Mehta, Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB)
• Shmuel Schnitzer, Israel Diamond Exchange Ltd. (IsDE)
• Ernie Blom, World Federation of Diamond Bourse (WFDB) – permanent member
Manufacturing of diamonds
• Mervin Lifshitz, Botswana Diamond Manufacturers Association (BDMA)
• Vipul Shah, Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC)
• Avi Paz, Israel Diamond Institute (IDI)
• Elliot Tannenbaum, Leo Schachter Diamonds
At large
• Gaetano Cavalieri, World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) – permanent member
• Maxim Shkadov, International Diamond Manufacturers Assoc. (IDMA) – permanent member
• Nigel Paxman, Malca-Amit Group of Companies
• Edward Asscher, Royal Asscher Diamond Company Ltd.
On May 12, the new board will hold its first formal meeting, during which it will elect the organization’s officers, including WDC president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer. The WDC president will serve a single two-year term and succeeded by the sitting vice-president.
“I believe we can all be proud of what has been achieved, not only this past week, but throughout the reform process,” said WDC president, Avi Paz. “The WDC is today more representative of our industry, more transparent in its operation, and better positioned, both financially and structurally, to face the challenges of the future. This is an important milestone for the entire diamond and jewellery sector.”
