The International Gemological Institute (IGI) recently announced that Avi Levy will take over as President of IGI North America, from industry veteran Jerry Ehrenwald, GG, ASA, who has served as President and CEO of IGI North America since 1991.

“With 30 years of fine jewellery-related expertise, Levy brings valuable experience to the institute, including diamond sourcing, manufacturing, product development, brand partnerships and wholesale trade to major jewellery retailers,” IGI said in its announcement statement. “His leadership skills and expertise gained from various roles have yielded advantageous results and strengthened key partnerships.”

Roland Lorie, IGI CEO commented: “We are excited to welcome Avi to the team. He will play a significant role in bolstering the Institute’s relationships and services offerings between the overseas manufacturers and the U.S. customer base.”

“IGI has been a leader and innovator in the certification of fine jewellery for over 40 years. I’m excited to continue the tradition of building trust and recognition within the industry and beyond,” said Levy. “I look forward to leading the New York-based team, growing our current relationships as well as forging new strategic alliances, with a concentrated focus on gaining further recognition and expansion of the IGI global brand. It is an honour to have the opportunity to redefine the significance of an IGI certification and bring a new sense of trust and transparency to the end consumer.”

Ehrenwald will be overseeing LGDEX.org, which is a laboratory grown diamond exchange platform. “Through his longstanding career with IGI, and having amassed a lifetime of industry experience, Ehrenwald’s legacy includes his invention of the U.S.-patented Laserscribe, which is a means of laser inscribing onto a diamond a unique indicia such as a Diamond Identification Number,” IGI said.

“There comes a time in life where you want to do something different, and that time for me is now,” said Ehrenwald. “While I have decided to move on to a new and exciting business venture, I will always keep IGI in my heart and hope to achieve the same level of pride and success with LGDEX.org as I have with IGI.”

Reflecting on Ehrenwald’s time with the Institute, Lorie said, “Jerry and I have spent most of our professional lives working together and have seen the company flourish, and we are very proud of what we achieved for the Institute. Today, major players in the retail industry are utilising IGI reports to bring confidence to their customers, and for that, I thank Jerry for his great work and wish him all the best with his new endeavour.”