SURAT | Dec 08, 2015: The De Beers group of companies on Monday appointed a Nimesh Patel, a Gujarati settled in London, as its chief financial officer (CFO).
Patel's appointment has come at a time when the world diamond industry is passing through a tough phase due to dwindling demand of diamonds in the international market.
De Beers, the world's largest diamond mining company is facing tough times as its rough diamond sales has decreased phenomenally due to heavy rejections by the Indian sightholders in the past couple of months.
Patel succeeds Gareth Mostyn, who will take up the role of executive head of strategy and corporate affairs in the New Year.
India is the important market for De Beers as more than half of its clients are based in Surat and Mumbai.
The annual rough diamond sale by De Beers is pegged at $5.5 billion.
Nimesh joins from Anglo American where he was Group Head of Corporate Finance. Prior to joining Anglo American, Nimesh spent 15 years in investment banking at JPMorgan and as a Managing Director at UBS.
In an official statement issued by the De Beers on Monday, Nimesh was quoted as saying, "Having been closely involved with De Beers for a number of years in my previous role, I look forward to working with Philippe, the Executive team and our many partners and stakeholders as we deliver on our strategy and continue to play a leading role in the industry."
Philippe Mellier, Chief Executive of De Beers, said "Nimesh has a strong track record of working in senior finance roles in large, complex organisations. I am delighted to welcome him to De Beers at what is an exciting time in the company's evolution."
(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/)