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De Beers Group today announces that after 20 years with the business, Head of De Beers Group Industry Services and Head of Forevermark Operations, Jonathan (Jonnie) Kendall will be retiring at the end of the year.
Jonnie has played an integral role in leading the evolution of many of De Beers Group’s downstream activities since he joined the company in 2001, holding a variety of roles during this time. Key achievements included helping to modernise the company’s approach to building stronger relationship with clients, launching the original Forevermark programme in 2005 and undertaking major marketing campaigns to support De Beers Group’s global leadership position.
In recent years, Jonnie led the development and launch of what is today known as De Beers Group Industry Services and the Institute of Diamonds, offering world-class diamond grading, testing, synthetic detection technology and education services to the diamond trade. He also oversaw the building of two globally recognised diamond laboratories in Antwerp and Surat.
Stephen Lussier, Executive Vice-President, Consumer and Brands, said: “Jonnie has made a significant contribution both to De Beers and to the wider diamond industry over the past two decades and is highly regarded by colleagues and clients alike. His leadership and dedication to always acting in the best interests of the diamond industry in underpinning consumer desire for, and trust in, diamonds, will leave a lasting legacy. On behalf of everyone at De Beers, I extend my deepest appreciation to Jonnie and wish him all the very best for this next chapter.”
Following Jonnie’s retirement, Jamie Clark, with 23 years’ experience, much of it alongside Jonnie, will take responsibility for managing the world-leading De Beers diamond laboratories. Emanuela Morando will continue to head up Client Management and Business Development and Jodine Perrin will continue to lead the company’s consumer and trade education services programme.
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Notes to Editors
Images of Jonathan Kendall, Jamie Clark, Emanuela Morando and Jodine Perrin are available to download here.
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About De Beers Group
Established in 1888, De Beers Group is the world’s leading diamond company with expertise in the exploration, mining and marketing of diamonds. Together with its joint venture partners, De Beers Group employs more than 20,000 people across the diamond pipeline and is the world’s largest diamond producer by value, with mining operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. Innovation sits at the heart of the De Beers Group strategy as it develops its portfolio of brands, including De Beers Jewellers and Forevermark, and other pioneering solutions, such as recently launched diamond sourcing and traceability initiatives GemFair and Tracr. De Beers Group employees are committed to ‘Building Forever,’ a holistic and integrated approach for creating a better future – one that is fairer, safer, cleaner and healthier; where safety, human rights and ethical integrity continue to be paramount; and where communities thrive and the environment is protected. De Beers Group is a member of the Anglo American plc group. For further information, visit www.debeersgroup.com.