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RAPAPORT... Firestone Diamonds appointed Stuart Brown as an executive director effective September 2 and he will become the CEO on December 1 when Tim Wilkes steps down from the role. Wilkes will remain with the company as an executive director. Brown, 49, is the former joint acting CEO and chief financial officer of the De Beers Group. Earlier in his career, Brown held positions in the finance divisions of Teemane Diamond Manufacturing in Botswana and at the Premier Mine in South Africa. In 1999, Stuart was appointed as finance manager for De Beers and in 2001, he was appointed general manager for De Beers geological services in South Africa. In 2006, he was appointed chief financial officer.  Lucio Genovese, the chairman of Firestone, said, “Stuart’s appointment is in line with Firestone’s previously stated objective to further strengthen our executive management team in order to assist in the development of our flagship Liqhobong project in Lesotho. “I would like to also take this opportunity to thank Tim for all of his dedication and hard work during his tenure as CEO. Tim has actively contributed towards repositioning the company to focus on Liqhobong and I look forward to continuing to work with him on this project.” Brown said, “I am extremely excited by the opportunity that Firestone provides and I look forward to bringing all my experience and passion for diamonds to the Company as it moves to its next phase of developing the Liqhobong deposit. After two years out of the diamond industry – an industry that has been a huge part of my life for 20 years – I am thoroughly revitalized, and ready to help Firestone bring a high quality, near-term asset on stream.” Wilkes added, “I look forward to working with Stuart again, and being an integral member of the team that develops Firestone into a 1-million-carat-plus per annum producer. I welcome the board of directors’ efforts and commitment in strengthening the executive committee, which I see as a major step forward for Firestone.”
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