He made the news public through a recent post on his LinkedIn profile, and said he will continue in his position until the end of 2025. He had rebranded the group earlier known as the Diamond Producers Association as the Natural Diamond Council in June 2020
New York: David Kellie, CEO of the Natural Diamond Council (NDC), has decided to step down at the end of 2025. He made an announcement about his decision through a recent post on his LinkedIn profile.
“Following the successful signing of the Luanda Accord committing more diamond producers to provide funding support for the promotion of natural diamonds, I have advised our Board of Directors that I will be stepping down from my position at the Natural Diamond Council at the end of 2025.I remain committed to the mission of the NDC through the remainder of the year, including the onboarding of new members and the launch of a successful new campaign in Q4,” David Kellie wrote, adding that he plans to “enjoy a life of retirement” following his resignation.
“I’m in the fortunate position where I’m able to retire. I want to spend more time doing what I want to do,”Kellie told a media portal later.
Kellie, who’s been based out of London since last year, says that he had made his decision prior to the signing of the Luanda Accord, where industry groups agreed to give the NDC a funding boost.“It’s been on my mind for a while,” he said. “I didn’t want to announce I was retiring before the Luanda Accord for fear of it disrupting the process.”
He noted that the NDC’s budget for this year is still only $40 million, despite the excitement around the Luanda agreement.
In June 2020, Kellie had rebranded the group previously known as the Diamond Producers Association as the Natural Diamond Council, and its mandate was to promote natural diamonds worldwide, initially funded by the world’s seven largest diamond producers, the three largest being Russian diamond miner Alrosa, the De Beers Group and Rio Tinto.Though its annual allowance quadrupled in its first two years, the NDC’s budget was impacted by Alrosa’s withdrawal in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting sanctions on Russian diamonds.
David Kellie has over 30 years of experience in marketing esteemed consumer brands around the world. He joined the NDC from the Watches of Switzerland Group where he oversaw the marketing launch of the UK’s largest luxury timepiece retailer into the US. Prior to that, he spent 15 years with Ralph Lauren initially in Geneva and later in New York where he led the global marketing and advertising teams across the full portfolio of brands and business. Kelliehad joined the NDC in December 2019, taking over as CEO after Jean-Marc Lieberherr left the organization.
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