Gemfields has appointed Bruce Cleaver, a former De Beers chief executive as its board chairperson and an independent non-executive director.
His appointment will take effect on 1 July 2024.
Cleaver will replace Martin Tolcher who led the company for almost five years.
"After 15 years as a member of Gemfields' Board and approaching 5 years as Chair, the time has come for me to step away from the Company to bolster Board independence,” he said.
“I am truly delighted to have such a remarkable successor in Bruce and am confident that Gemfields will go from strength to strength under his stewardship."
Cleaver said Gemfields is a unique and extraordinary business, one that has taken a fragmented and fairly informal industry to considerable sophistication as the first consistent supplier of significant quantities of coloured gemstones responsibly and transparently.
“The parallels with De Beers' origins and how consistent and reliable supply can deliver remarkable industry growth and positive contributions to communities, are clear to all,” he said.
“The coloured gemstone market has long-transcended the arrival of their lab-grown counterparts, with lab-grown rubies having been around for more than 120 years.”
Meanwhile, Gemfields has appointed Simon Scott as an independent non-executive director.
He will join the audit committee and the nomination committee and also chair the risk council.
Scott was previously Chief Financial Officer of Lonmin plc, the LSE-listed platinum miner and is a non-executive director of First Quantum Minerals Ltd and Sylvania Platinum Ltd.
It also appointed Kieran Daly as a non-executive director
He is the managing director of Assore International, which holds a 29.2% holding in Gemfields and is therefore not deemed independent.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
