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RAPAPORT... Board members of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) reelected Stéphane Fischler as its president and appointed Kaushik Mehta as the vice president to represent the trade and Freddy Inzlicht as the vice president to represent the bourses.
In 2012, the bylaws of the AWDC extended the duration of service mandate from two to four years and implemented a rotation schedule that will renew half of the board membership every two years, which ensures continuation in the board of directors over the years. The bourses nominated three directors as their representatives, including Inzlicht, Jacques (Jacky) Korn and first-time board member Thierry Polakiewicz. The diamond manufacturers (SBD and VKD) proposed Fischler. The remaining six on the board of directors, Kaushik Mehta, Santosh Kedia, Shailesh Javeri, Samir Mehta and Jacques Weisz, elected as trade representatives through direct elections in 2012, remain in their positions for two more years. AWDC's CEO, Ari Epstein, said, "I sincerely congratulate Mr. Fischler on his reelection as AWDC president. Over the past two years, Stéphane Fischler has proven to be a skillful leader of our board of directors. He is highly respected and well known for his dedication toward the Antwerp diamond community and beyond. As CEO of our organization, I look forward to continuing the excellent cooperation with both Mr. Fischler and our board of directors." Fischler was born in Antwerp in 1958 and he is a third-generation diamantaire who started working at Fischler Diamonds in 1979, where he is now a partner. The company was founded in 1953 by Aby and Cappi Fischler, and by the late Bram Fischler, who served as the president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, the Antwerp Diamond Bourse and HRD. Stephane Fischler is currently the treasurer for the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA), vice president of SBD, and a board member of the WTOCD (a scientific diamond research center), the World Diamond Council, the Diamond & Jewellery Management Institute Antwerp and the Diamond Development Initiative.
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