Gemfields Group Limited has announced the appointment of Bruce Cleaver as the new Chair of the Board, effective from 1st July 2024. Cleaver, known for his distinguished leadership and extensive experience in the gemstone mining sector, will be taking over the reins from Martin Tolcher. Cleaver will also become an independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Nomination Committee.
Cleaver’s previous roles include serving as the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chair of De Beers Group, where he played a pivotal role in the diamond industry. His expertise in mining gemstones in Africa and marketing them internationally is expected to bring valuable insights and direction to Gemfields.
Cleaver said, “Gemfields is a unique and extraordinary business, one that has taken a fragmented and fairly informal industry to considerable sophistication as the first consistent supplier of significant quantities of coloured gemstones in a responsible and transparent manner. The coloured gemstone market has long-transcended the arrival of their lab-grown counterparts, with lab-grown rubies having been around for more than 120 years.”