Leadership

Al Cook became Chief Executive Officer of De Beers Group in February 2023.

Skills and Experience

Al brings extensive leadership expertise to De Beers Group, having previously been Executive Vice President, Exploration and Production International at Equinor, where he led Equinor’s multi-billion dollar global E&P business across Africa, the Americas and Europe. He previously led Equinor's global strategy and business development, developing the company’s net zero strategy.

Before joining Equinor, Al had a 20 year career at BP, where his final role was Chief of Staff to the CEO. This included working with the World Economic Forum to address the challenge of climate change, setting up the Oil & Gas Climate Initiative and supporting diversity programmes across the energy industry.

Al holds an MA in Natural Sciences from St. John’s College, Cambridge University and in 2005 completed the International Executive Programme at INSEAD.

External Appointments

Al is a Trustee of the Power of Nutrition charity, a Fellow of the Energy Institute and a Fellow of the Geological Society of London.

Richard was appointed Chief Financial Officer in October 2023.

Skills and Experience

Richard joined De Beers in 2017 as the Group Financial Controller, and subsequently assumed responsibility for the Business Planning and Business Development functions. He is also currently a Board Member of the Element Six joint venture with Umicore.

He has a strong track record of senior multi-national financial roles throughout his career, including at Anglo American Thermal Coal in South Africa where he led the finance department and supported the transformation of that business prior to its demerger from Anglo American. Whilst at Thermal Coal, he was also a Director of Mafube Coal, the Anglo American joint venture with Exxaro, and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Richards Bay Coal Terminal, one of the leading coal export terminals in the world.

Richard trained as a Chartered Accountant at PwC and holds a BSc in Biology from the University of Nottingham.

Andrew was appointed Managing Director, Debswana in June 2022. Debswana is the Botswana-based diamond mining joint venture between the Government of the Republic of Botswana and De Beers Group.

Skills and Experience

Andrew joined Debswana from the Bank of Botswana, where he held several key strategic and leadership positions during a 29-year career, most recently as Deputy Governor of the Bank. As Deputy Governor, he represented Botswana regionally and internationally in various forums, including the country’s membership of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He also worked on attachment at the IMF in Washington DC as a Special Appointee, as well as serving as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis.

Andrew holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Accounting from the University of Botswana, a post-graduate Diploma in Economic Development and Planning from the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning, and a Master’s Degree in Economics from the Victoria University of Manchester.

Alessandra was appointed Executive Vice President, Commercial and Partnerships, in February 2018.

Skills and Experience

Alessandra was Lead Legal Counsel for Anglo American from 2013 to 2018, leading on mergers and acquisitions and strategic transactions. Previously, she was Group General Counsel for De Beers Group from 2008. She has also served as a director of De Beers UK, De Beers Group Services and De Beers Marine.

Before joining De Beers, she was a partner at Webber Wentzel, Africa’s largest law firm.

Alessandra is a qualified lawyer with a BA in English, Philosophy and Law and an LLB from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. She is also an Admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa.

Burger was appointed Chief Operating Officer in June 2025.

Skills and Experience

Burger started his career in the aerospace industry and joined the mining industry in 1993. Prior to his appointment as Chief Operating Officer, he served as Executive Head, Technical & Sustainability from 2017. He has spent most of his career in the design, construction and services of diamond processing plants, technology development, marine mining, contractor mining and construction in Canada, and strategic and business planning.

He holds a master’s degree in engineering (cum laude) from Stellenbosch University and completed the Gordon Institute of Business Science executive development programme.

Siobhán was appointed CEO, Element Six, in February 2023.

Skills and Experience

Siobhán has more than 30 years of experience at Element Six, working across the organisation from production and quality control through to business management and innovation. Prior to being appointed Chief Executive, she was Executive Director for Sales & Marketing from 2018 and Executive Director, Innovation from 2014. She held a variety of senior management positions before this time, including heading the Oil & Gas business unit.

Siobhán has an MBA, as well as an Advanced Diploma in Analytical Science and an Advanced Diploma in Quality Management.

Sandrine became CEO, Brands & Diamond Desirability in December 2023.

Skills and Experience

Sandrine joined De Beers from Maus Freres Brands Group where she spent eight years, including as CEO of Aigle and before that, Group Marketing & Branding Executive Vice President for Lacoste. Prior to this, Sandrine spent almost two decades in leadership roles at Unilever spanning marketing, general management and audit disciplines across various geographies.

Sandrine holds a Master’s in Business Management from NEOMA Business School, she is an Alumni of Science Po Paris and has an International Directors Programme Certificate from INSEAD. She has served as a Board Member and Senior Advisor at PPYarns and Raise Sherpas. She also received the Chevalière de l’Ordre National du Mérite (Knight of the French Republic) in recognition of promoting diversity in business while developing sustainability within the French industry.

External Appointments

Sandrine serves as a Non Executive Member on the Board of CARBIOS, the French biotech company.

Malebogo Mpugwa was appointed Chief People Officer, De Beers Group, in October 2022.

Skills and Experience

Malebogo joined Debswana in 2000 and held several HR management roles before taking on Head of HR and Group Talent Manager roles in De Beers Group and Anglo American. Since 2019, she has been Head of Talent Management, Learning and Organisation Development for De Beers Group, leading the business’s work to attract, develop and retain key talent across the pipeline.

Malebogo holds a BA in Public Administration and Political Science from the University of Botswana, as well as an Executive MBA from London Business School.

External Appointments

Malebogo is a Director at Liberty Life Botswana.

Paul was appointed Executive Vice President, Diamond Trading, in February 2018.

Skills and Experience

Paul joined De Beers in 1983 as a trainee diamond sorter in the Rough Diamond Division. Between 1986 and 1987, he was seconded to Kimberley, before returning to London to take up a role in the Purchasing Department. This role gave him extensive diamond buying experience in Angola, Antwerp, Zaire, Congo and Guinea. In 2007, he was appointed Executive Director at the Diamond Trading Company (DTC). In this capacity, he was a member of the DTC Executive Committee team in London and served on the boards of DTC Botswana and Namibia DTC.

In 2012, he became acting Managing Director of DTC Botswana, before becoming Senior Vice President, Operations Midstream, where he oversaw the preparations for the migration of the Sales functions from London in the UK to Gaborone, Botswana.

His most recent role, prior to his current one, was as Executive Vice President, Global Sightholder Sales.

Willy was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Debmarine Namibia in November 2022.

Skills and Experience

Will has been a key member of the Debmarine Namibia leadership team for the last 10 years. His most recent role, prior to his current one, was as Chief Financial Officer of Debmarine Namibia with oversight accountability for Namdeb Holdings (Pty) Ltd.

He is a Chartered Accountant by training and brings to his new role a wealth of corporate experience spanning more than 20 years.

Riaan Burger became Chief Executive Officer of Namdeb Diamond Corporation in 2017 and was appointed to the De Beers Group Executive Committee in October 2022.

Skills and Experience

Prior to becoming CEO of Namdeb, Riaan held a number of different leadership and key strategic project roles within Namdeb, having joined the company in 1995 as a Section Engineer.

Before joining Namdeb, Riaan worked in the aviation industry for Air Namibia.

Riaan is a Mechanical Engineer by training and also holds an MBA from the University of Stellenbosch Business School.

Kevin was appointed Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Strategy in April 2024.

Skills and Experience

Kevin joined De Beers Group in 1996 and has held many leadership roles across both De Beers and Anglo American, including operational, technical and commercial positions. Prior to his current position, Kevin was Head of Operational Improvement and Project Performance and played a key role in developing De Beers Group’s strategy across the business’ operations.

He brings a wealth of experience and a range of skills from his 28 years in the business, including working alongside our government partners in Botswana and Namibia.

Kevin holds a BSc Mining Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

External Appointments

Kevin is on the Board of Directors for both Namdeb and Debmarine Namibia, De Beers Group’s joint ventures with the Government of the Republic of Namibia.

Tom was appointed General Counsel for De Beers in January 2024.

Skills and Experience

Tom joined Anglo American in 2016 as Legal Manager for the Element Six Group. He subsequently assumed the role of Head of Legal for De Beers in 2020 and took over responsibility for the Company Secretarial function in 2021.

He has previously held senior international legal management and governance roles across a number of industries including at Element Six and Rexam plc (a multinational FTSE 100 packaging business). He started his career as a corporate finance lawyer at Allen & Overy.

Tom is a qualified Solicitor of the Supreme Courts of England and holds a BA in jurisprudence from the University of Oxford.

External Appointments

Tom is a member of the leadership team for the Anglo American Legal and Corporate Affairs function.

Feriel became Chief Trade and Industry Officer in June 2025.

Skills and Experience

Feriel joined De Beers in 2005 as a Supply Chain Analyst at the Diamond Trading Company and gained experience and knowledge in forecasting mine production, pricing rough diamonds and creating selling mixtures for Sightholders. In 2009, she was appointed Best Practice Principles Manager for De Beers, with responsibility for building and maintaining a streamlined social compliance programme.

Feriel was then appointed to Head of Government in 2015 with the overarching objective of protecting the integrity of diamonds, the diamond supply chain and maintaining the integrity of De Beers and its commercial interests. Feriel then took on the role of SVP of Corporate Affairs and is now appointed as the Chief Trade and Industry Officer for the Group. She has extensive experience designing collaborative partnerships between multi-sectoral stakeholders to mitigate operational and reputational risk across the diamond supply chain.

External Appointments

Feriel is the President of the World Diamond Council. She is also on the Board of Directors of the Responsible Jewellery Council, JVC, and the General Manager of GemFair.