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Philippe Mellier Resigns as De Beers CEO
Anglo American executive Bruce Cleaver to take over July 1
May 29, 2016 2:09 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Philippe Mellier stepped down as chief
executive officer of De Beers with Bruce Cleaver appointed to replace him, the
company announced Friday.
Mellier decided to leave the
diamond miner five years after joining from
French transport group Alstom and will hand over to Cleaver on July 1.
“As I committed at the outset in 2011, I envisaged a five-year
plan with the team and the board to reset De Beers on its current path,”
Mellier (pictured, right) said. “Having steered through some of the diamond industry’s toughest
times and with the market showing signs of recovery, now is the right time for
me to pass the baton to the next generation.”
 Cleaver (left) has been group director of strategy and business development for De Beers
parent company Anglo American since last
year. Before then he was executive director at De Beers, responsible for
strategy and commercial relationships, and served as the diamond miner’s
co-acting CEO for a year prior to Mellier’s appointment in 2011.
The change at the top of the world’s largest diamond producer
by value comes after Martin Rapaport, Chairman of the Rapaport Group, called
on Mellier
to resign last November, arguing the company’s
refusal to lower rough prices was “destroying” the diamond trade. De Beers
later claimed rough prices declined 15
percent during 2015.
Mellier has “navigated through
structural change and considerable market volatility over the last five years,”
said Mark Cutifani, chief executive of Anglo American and chairman of De Beers.
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Tags:
appointments, Bruce Cleaver, De Beers, mining, Philippe Mellier, Rapaport News, rough producers
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