2006

Meeus Resigns from Diamond High Council

January/February 2006

After Peter Meeus, managing director of the Diamond High Council (HRD) in Antwerp, resigned recently, a group of three temporary administrators were appointed to keep the institution running during the transition period.

The management team consists of: Chris Swolfs, director of business development, who will be in charge of the commercial activities of HRD, including the certificate laboratory, the training institute and the sale of instruments; Youri Steverlynck, who will be charge of general services, the Diamond Office, public relations, and contact with the authorities; and Mark Van Bockstael, manager international affairs, who will handle foreign contacts of HRD.

Meanwhile, in anticipation of the order to appoint new representatives for the Group Trade, Dilip Mehta, CEO of Rosy Blue has decided to resign as director of HRD.

"I cannot recognize myself anymore in the HRD that we have seen recently, in which large players are apparently not welcome anymore," Metha said. "The Antwerp diamond sector needs an organization that looks ahead and sees the opportunities in new trends instead of an organization that keeps on dreaming of the past."

Reports say that some of the big names are looking to form an "alternative" organization to HRD. Meanwhile, there are reports that the Belgium Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt has questioned the legality of HRD, because of a law that limits non-profit organizations from having too many members from the groups it represents.