The World Diamond Council has appointed Feriel Zerouki to the role of president, following three years as vice president.
Zerouki assumed office on 15 May at a meeting of the WDC board of directors in London, taking over from Edward Asscher, who completed the second of two non-consecutive terms as WDC president.
She brings almost two decades of experience as a leading advocate for enhancing standards in the diamond industry.
Born in the United Arab Emirates and from Algerian descent, Zerouki joined the diamond industry in 2005 as a supply chain analyst at De Beers’ Diamond Trading Company.
In 2009 she was appointed best practices principles manager at De Beers, with responsibility for building and maintaining a leading set of ethical standards for the De Beers Group, Sightholders and its diamond contractors, covering business, social and environmental issues.
In 2014 she was appointed head of international relations at De Beers, it was in this position that she began her association with the WDC.
More recently Zerouki was appointed senior vice president of corporate affairs at De Beers Group.
She also serves as an officer on the board of directors of the Responsible Jewellery Council and this year was appointed to the board of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee.
Zerouki will lead the WDC delegation at the five-day 2023 Kimberley Process Intersessional meeting, which will begin on 21 May, at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.
During the meeting, the WDC board also approved the election of Ronnie VanderLinden as the new WDC vice president.
According to the organisation’s bylaws, he will become the next president when Zerouki ends her term in office.
Zerouki said: “Edward has served the WDC with distinction, dutifully representing the interests of our members and diverse stakeholders during a period in which the industry has navigated unprecedented events.
“His determination to always act with probity while also protecting the integrity of diamonds and the diamond value chain has been a personal inspiration to me. I am committed to upholding these principles and in particular Edward’s consistent call not to leave anyone behind, which will remain a foundational principle of the WDC.”