Jim Gowans is Managing Director of Debswana, the world’s leading diamond producer.  His appointment commenced on 1st January 2011.

Prior to this he was President of De Beers Canada, having joined the company in 2006 as President and Chief Executive Officer. In April 2010, Jim moved from his role as CEO of De Beers Canada to Chief Operating & Technical Officer for the De Beers Group worldwide.  He also became a De Beers sa director in April 2010 and is on a number of Boards within the De Beers Family of Companies. Jim will relinquish these other responsibilities over the coming weeks.

Jim brings over thirty years of practical management experience, touching on most aspects of the mining industry, including exploration, major projects, operations and human resources. Jim has held the senior roles at Cominco (now Teck), Placer Dome and Inco and has worked in the Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, Alaska, the High Arctic and Indonesia. Before joining De Beers, Jim was the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of PT Inco Indonesia.

Jim earned his Bachelor of Applied Science in Mineral Engineering (Mining and Mineral Processing) from the University of British Columbia in 1974. He is also Past-President of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), is the current President of the Mining Association of Canada (MAC), a Director on the Conference Board of Canada and on the Board of Cameco Inc.