Current President of the World Diamond Council (WDC), Andrey Polyakov will be stepping down from his position at the end of this week, the organisation announced in a release on June 28. No reason was given for the resignation.

WDC said that the current Vice President, Stephane Fischler will serve as acting President effective July 1, 2017 through May 2018, when the term of the present Board comes to an end. At that point, Fischler will begin his two year term as WDC President, the release stated.

It may be recalled that Polyakov became President of the WDC in May 2016 after serving as Vice President for the organisation the year prior.

In a message, Polyakov said, “It has been an honour to serve as President of the WDC and to be a part of an organization tasked with such an important mission for our industry.”

He added that while much has been achieved as a result of the efforts of the industry, “assuring that the diamond supply chain remains virtually free of conflict diamonds will take vigilance and an ongoing commitment to education and training for the next generation of industry stewards.”

On assuming the new responsibility, Fischler said, “We owe a debt of gratitude to Andrey for his leadership and I, along with the rest of the members, look forward to continuing the good work he began with us.”