ALROSA today announced the appointment of  Rebecca Foerster as President of ALROSA USA Inc.   Foerster  comes to the Company having  served as Executive Vice President of Strategic Planning and Marketing at New York’s Leo Schachter Diamonds,  until recently.

“In the new position, Ms. Foerster will be involved in all aspects of the work at ALROSA’s USA office, located in New York,” ALROSA said. “Principally, she will be responsible for the development of polished diamonds sales and customer service.”

 Foerster   worked at Leo Schachter Diamonds since 2014. Prior to that (since 2007), she held the position of Vice President at the US Representative office of Rio Tinto, one of the three largest diamond mining companies in the world. From  1998 to 2007, she served as Vice President of marketing for jewellery manufacturer Frederick Goldman Inc. (New York).

Foerster  has also worked at large advertising agencies and corporations such as Revlon, Unilever and Benckiser in strategic marketing and branding positions for over 15 years, prior to her entry in the gems and jewellery arena.

“The United States is the world’s largest market for diamond jewellery consumption,” commented Yury Okoemov, Deputy CEO of ALROSA,   on the appointment. “For this reason, special requirements are placed on the person who will represent ALROSA’s interests there. Ms. Foerster has a wealth of experience in companies that represent almost all parts of the diamond pipeline, from diamond mining to diamond jewellery sales. She knows the specifics of the diamond business and is well aware of American market needs. We are certainly glad that Ms. Foerster has joined our team. We believe that her experience and expertise will best help to solve our US company’s tasks.”

ALROSA’s office in New York was opened in 2006, but since 2016, it has not been operating for organisational reasons, the Company stated. Full-scale operation was resumed in 2018, when two rough diamond auctions were held there. “This year, ALROSA plans to hold four rough diamond auctions in New York and significantly increase its office activity in selling its own polished diamonds,” the Company concluded.