The Board of Directors of the World Diamond Council (WDC) has named Ms. Marie-Chantal Kaninda as the new Executive Director of the organisation effective March 1, 2017, replacing Patricia Syvrud, who stepped down on February 28th.

The new ED will provide overall leadership to the organization, liaising and developing relationships with key stakeholders, and coordinating the representation of the WDC within the Kimberley Process, in addition to general organizational management, the WDC said in a statement.

Kaninda has over 20 years of industry marketing and stakeholder engagement experience, having worked for companies such as Anglo Gold Ashanti, De Beers and Rio Tinto, mostly in Africa. She is a resident of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and has been the Chair of that country’s Anti-Corruption Initiative for the Private Sector since 2012. Fluent in French and English, she is also on the Board of Directors of the Diamond Development Initiative and Procredit Equity Bank.

Andrey Polyakov, WDC President said, “We are thrilled to have someone with Ms. Kaninda’s background and experience take on the role of Executive Director of the WDC. Her perspective will be invaluable to the industry work within the Kimberley Process reform initiative, which will take place this year and next.”

Polyakov also expressed his thanks to Syvrud for her professionalism and assistance in building the WDC into the organization it is today, and conveyed his best wishes for her future endeavors.