Edward Asscher has been appointed as the new president of the World Diamond Council (WDC). WDC is an international organization. The organization is leading the industry’s effort to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the jewelry supply chain,. The organization is also charged with representing it in the tripartite Kimberley Process coalition. Mr. Edward Asscher assumed the role during a virtual board meeting on June 5, 2020. Mr. Asscher will be serving for the second term as WDC President. Currently, he is also serving as Vice President of the European Council of Diamond Manufacturers. Mr.Asscher has also served in functions outside of the diamond industry. He was the past President of the Liberal Party in Amsterdam and was elected as Senator for this party in the Dutch parliament serving in the upper house.
“ I am honored to be able to serve once again as WDC President, and to head a body whose entire purpose is to protect the integrity of the natural diamond, and also that of the industry that mines, manufacturers and sells it, enabling all stakeholders to gain maximum benefit from revenues generated, especially in the developing world” stated by Mr. Asscher. He further quoted “ In taking over from Stephane, I am filling giant shoes “. He emphasized on natural diamond’s potential to act as a catalyst for social and economic development and reconfirmed his belief that as a business community, it has the potential to change people’s lives and livelihoods at the grass-roots level positively and contributing further by developing governance standards that will be implemented across the value chain.
Fereil Zerouki, Senior Vice President of International relations & Ethical initiatives at the De Beers Group has been appointed as the Vice president of the World Diamond Council, the first woman ever to hold the position. According to t the bylaws of WDC, she will succeed Mr. Edward Asscher after completion of his two-year term in 2022.In the virtual meeting, Ronnie Vanderlinden has been reelected as WDC Treasurer and Udu Sheintal has been elected as WDC Secretary.
