Stephen Lussier Steps Down from De Beers, Will Remain Advisor to Group – WWD

LONDON – De Beers veteran Stephen Lussier will step down from the executive role after 37 years and make way for the former manager of Tiffany & Co. Marc Jacheet.

Lussier, whose title is De Beers The group’s executive vice president of Brands & Markets, will leave his role April 1, but will continue to contribute to De Beers as a strategic advisor.

He will also continue to serve as president of the Natural Diamond Council, a consumer and industry organization that describes itself as a resource and authority on mined diamonds.

Jacheet was most recently president of Tiffany & Co. in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and was previously president of Tiffany’s Asia Pacific. He has also held numerous global marketing roles with LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Danone and Unilever in Europe and the United States

Bruce Cleaver, chief executive officer of De Beers Group, said that Lussier’s contributions to De Beers and the entire diamond industry “were few and far between. Over the course of 37 years, he has shaped the soul of our products and reminded us of the preciousness, beauty and positive impact of natural diamonds.”

Cleaver said Lussier’s name and legacy will be “forever associated with De Beers Group. Stephen leaves behind an exceptional leadership team, as passionate about the role diamonds play in culture and community as he has been. ”

Lussier said he is “proud of the markets we have opened, the brands we have built and diamond dream guided us at each step. I am particularly pleased to have identified Marc as an individual with the insight and leadership skills to guide De Beers’ consumer strategy into an exciting new era for the group and the diamond industry. . ”

Over the past few years, Lussier has been at the forefront of De Beers’ sustainability efforts, helping lead research into the carbon-degrading power of kimberlite – the rock in which rough diamonds are encased – and working to protect it. communities and natural resources in Africa and Canada, where De Beers mines diamonds.

He also served as the director of Forevermark, a collection of rare and traceable diamonds engraved with microscopic identification details and sold in a limited number of locations worldwide.

Jacheet will join De Beers Group on February 1 as chief executive officer, De Beers Brands, and will join the De Beers Group executive committee with responsibility for the Brands & Markets business unit Consumption.