When delegates from the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) gathered in Singapore in July for the World Diamond Congress, they were faced with the election of a new president with a real contest for the first time in many years. New WFDB presidents are normally a shoo-in with the candidate approached quietly during internal meetings to sound out his willingness to take on the position.
The contest featured candidates from three of the most important diamond centers and illustrated that for the fist time in a very long time WFDB members were clearly in a fractious mood as they sought to succeed Israel's Yoram Dvash, who stepped down after serving the maximum two consecutive three-year terms.
It was far more than a routine leadership election since for the first time in many years, the presidency was genuinely contested, with candidates from India, China and the United Arab Emirates reflecting the changing balance of power within the global diamond trade.
More importantly, the election came as the WFDB continues to wrestle with a question that has become increasingly difficult to answer over the past decade: what role should the federation play in an industry that has changed almost beyond recognition?
The Candidates And The Winner
The three candidates were Mehul Shah of India's Bharat Diamond Bourse, Lin Qiang of the Shanghai Diamond Exchange in China and Ahmed Bin Sulayem of the Dubai Diamond Exchange in the UAE and they all offered different leadership styles and different visions. They all faced the same fundamental challenge: restoring the relevance of an organization that many believe has struggled to redefine its purpose in a rapidly evolving marketplace.
The WFDB presidents elected Mehul Shah to lead it for the next three years and his role will be to deal with raising the global body’s profile and carving out a new role. Shah represents the world's dominant diamond manufacturing centre and one of the industry's most experienced trade leaders.
Having served as Vice President of the Bharat Diamond Bourse for 16 years and Treasurer-General of the WFDB for the past decade, Shah believes experience remains the federation's greatest asset. While he welcomes younger professionals into leadership, he believes the organization should continue to be guided by individuals who have spent years learning both the business and the federation itself.
His campaign emphasizes continuity, institutional knowledge and strengthening the existing structure rather than fundamentally reshaping it.
The Effect Of Changing Diamond Industry Trading On The WFDB
For much of its history, the WFDB occupied a central place in the international diamond trade. It united the world's diamond bourses, established trading standards, promoted ethical business practices and provided a forum where the industry's principal trading centres could work together.
Today, however, the environment is very different.
The traditional role of diamond bourses has steadily diminished as trading has become increasingly digital, international and decentralized.
Many transactions that once required the infrastructure and oversight of a bourse are now conducted directly between companies operating across multiple jurisdictions.
Perhaps no challenge has been more disruptive than the emergence of laboratory-grown diamonds. Their rapid growth has fundamentally altered the competitive landscape, forcing the natural diamond industry to rethink marketing, consumer education and value propositions. The debate has also exposed differing views about how organizations such as the WFDB should respond.
Against this backdrop, the federation has often been viewed as reacting to events rather than shaping them. Successive administrations have spoken about modernization, greater collaboration and expanding the organization's influence, yet many members continue to ask what unique value the WFDB offers in today's industry.
That question remains unanswered and was at heart of the election for president.
Other Organizations Have Higher Profiles
Another significant development is that other industry organizations have assumed greater influence in areas where the WFDB was once regarded as a leading voice.
The World Diamond Council has become the industry's principal advocate on regulatory and governmental issues, while organizations such as the Natural Diamond Council have taken responsibility for category marketing.
Meanwhile, CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, has expanded its work significantly on all issues relating to diamonds – both natural and lab-grown diamonds. The organization’s Blue Book relating to diamonds, terminology and much else is regarded nowadays as something of a standard reference book.
The candidates illustrated how the geography of the diamond business continues to evolve.
The Candidates And What They Represented
China's Lin Qiang presented a somewhat different approach. As President of the Shanghai Diamond Exchange, he has overseen the remarkable growth of one of the industry's newest major trading centres and has played an important role in developing China's diamond market over the past quarter century.
Qiang largely avoided framing the election as a contest between generations. Instead, he focused on building a stronger and more united federation while encouraging greater cooperation between member bourses. His message was that the industry's challenges required collective leadership rather than ideological divisions.
The third candidate, Ahmed Bin Sulayem, arguably represented the strongest call for change.
As Chairman of the Dubai Diamond Exchange and Executive Chairman of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), Bin Sulayem has been closely associated with Dubai's transformation into one of the world's largest diamond trading hubs. His candidacy has attracted support from a younger generation of industry professionals who believe the WFDB requires more ambitious reform if it is to remain relevant.
Former London Diamond Bourse President David Troostwyk, who was seeking the vice presidency alongside Bin Sulayem, had argued that the federation risks becoming an organization of "diminishing relevance" unless it modernizes. Their campaign proposed a more proactive, outward-looking federation capable of responding more quickly to industry change and providing tangible value to its members.
Age, however, was only one element of the contest.
The election also reflected broader shifts in the global diamond trade. Dubai's remarkable rise over the past two decades has challenged the dominance of traditional trading centres, while India continues to dominate manufacturing, and China remains one of the world's most important consumer markets. The presence of candidates from these three countries underlined how leadership within the industry is becoming increasingly global rather than concentrated in its historic centres.
At the same time, the campaign highlighted differing views on laboratory-grown diamonds.
Shah and Qiang both emphasized that the WFDB should remain firmly committed to promoting natural diamonds, despite recognizing that many member companies now operate in both sectors.
Bin Sulayem however had a more complex position. Although deeply rooted in the natural diamond business through Dubai's trading infrastructure and his leadership of the Kimberley Process, he has also overseen Dubai's emergence as an important centre for laboratory-grown diamonds, including hosting international conferences dedicated to the sector. Supporters view this as evidence of pragmatism and an understanding of market realities, while critics question whether the federation's focus on natural diamonds could become diluted.
WFDB President Shah Inherits An Organization At A Crossroads
Although the WFDB still enjoys enormous goodwill, a distinguished history and representation across the world's major diamond centres, history alone is no longer enough. Members expect practical benefits, stronger advocacy and clearer leadership at a time when the natural diamond industry faces unprecedented competitive pressures.
The election was about deciding what kind of organization the WFDB wants to become after spending much of the past decade searching for a renewed sense of purpose.
The federation has an opportunity to redefine itself for a new era—one shaped by technological change, shifting centres of influence, evolving consumer preferences and intense competition from laboratory-grown diamonds.
Final Words
Whether the next president chooses continuity, consensus or reform, one reality remains unchanged: restoring the WFDB's relevance will be considerably more difficult than winning the election itself.
Abraham Dayan for Rough&Polished from Tel Aviv
