De Beers Exec Honored for Responsible Practices

Apr 1, 2019 4:08 AM By Rapaport News

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RAPAPORT... Initiatives in Art and Culture (IAC) will present Feriel Zerouki with its award for leadership in responsible practice in jewelry.

The honor is bestowed annually on members of the jewelry industry, or part of a jewelry-focused organization, that have made a transformational contribution to ethical sourcing and responsible practice in the global trade, IAC said last week.

Zerouki, De Beers’ senior vice president of international relations and ethical initiatives, will receive the accolade for her efforts in raising international awareness of sustainability through the De Beers Best Practice Principles. She has also provided working solutions to help track responsibly sourced diamonds in Sierra Leone.

“Both personally and professionally, Feriel embodies all the attributes that we seek in an honoree, and this award is so well-deserved for all that she has done to champion and further responsible practice and ethical supply chains worldwide,” said Lisa Koenigsberg, president and founder of IAC.

Zerouki began working with De Beers as a supply-chain analyst in 2005. She was appointed best-practice-principles manager for the miner in 2009. Together with the Diamond Development Initiative, she helped launch GemFair, a pilot program that aims to create a secure and transparent route to market for ethically sourced artisanal and small-scale mined diamonds. She currently serves as its general manager.

She is also on the board of directors for the World Diamond Council as well as the Responsible Jewellery Council.

The award will be presented at the IAC Gold Conference April 4 and 5 in New York.

Image: Feriel Zerouki. (IAC)

Tags: De Beers, diamond development initiative, ethical sourcing, Feriel Zerouki, GemFair, IAC, IAC Gold Conference, Initiatives in Art and Culture, Lisa Koenigsberg, Rapaport News, Responsible Jewellery Council, responsible practice, World Diamond Council