Provenance, Traceability, Technology

SPEAKERS

MARTIN LEAKE
SPECIAL ADVISOR - PRECIOUS STONES
DMCC

Martin Leake is a Special Advisor for Precious Stones at DMCC. Appointed to the position in June 2018, Martin is responsible for expanding and diversifying DMCC’s Precious Stone portfolio and helping Dubai grow into the world’s number one diamond-trading hub.

As Company Secretary of the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE), Martin focuses on driving trade through the Exchange by forging, and strengthening commercial partnerships with stakeholders across the diamond industry, to improve governance, compliance and responsible sourcing. He also chairs the organising committee for DMCC’s flagship diamond event, the Dubai Diamond Conference (DDC).

With over 15 years of experience in marketing both rough and polished diamonds, Martin is an expert on the economics of diamond mining, and an internationally recognised exploration geologist in gold, diamonds, copper, iron ore and coal.

Prior to joining DMCC, Martin worked with BHP Billiton Diamonds Marketing and Grib Diamonds and has extensive experience in marketing, sales and business development. Across his career, Martin has lived and worked in 10 countries spanning Africa, Europe, Australia North and South America, and the Middle East.

Martin was a Board Member of the World Diamond Council, a member of the Executive Committee of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt.

He holds a BSc (Hons) in Geology and a PhD in Exploration Geology from the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom.

MARGOT STUART
CO-FOUNDER
ORIGINALL

Margot brings over 15 years of expertise in combatting illicit trade and counterfeiting. As an early member of the OECD Taskforce on Charting Illicit Trade, she has been at the forefront of initiatives co-developed alongside international organizations such as INTERPOL and WCO.

Not just limited to countering illicit trades, Margot has a proven track record in establishing and scaling start-ups. Steering operational activities in a MedTech startup has also allowed her to acquire a deep understanding of regulatory and quality mandates. Over the years, she has established herself as a subject matter expert in traceability and product data integrity with deep insights on Sustainable Business Management.

HANS J. SCHWAB
CO-FOUNDER
ORIGINALL

Hans Schwab co-founded numerous ventures, with a focus over the past two decades on developing platforms that empower people to make better, safer product choices. Before co-founding OriginAll, he was the Chief Information Officer of a publicly traded Swiss cybersecurity company. Earlier in his career he spent 10 years in various management positions with the World Economic Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, including as a Member of their Executive Board and seven years in senior management positions with a Swiss multinational company in the security industry.

Hans was an early member of the OECD Task Force on Charting illicit trade and from 2014 to 2016 he was a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Human Rights and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Meta-Council on the The Illicit Economy.

FELICITAS MORHART
FOUNDER
SWISS CENTER FOR LUXURY RESEARCH

Felicitas Morhart is Full Professor of Marketing at the University of Lausanne since 2014 and Vice-Dean of the Faculty of the Business School since 2019. Her research focuses on how market-oriented companies can create meaning and contribute to the well-being of their various stakeholders (mainly customers, employees, managers, and society).

Her central work is at the intersection of marketing and leadership, such as her work on behavioral branding, brand-oriented employee leadership, personal branding, and brand authenticity. Her latest teaching and research focuses on luxury marketing. In 2020, she published the edited book "Research Handbook of Luxury Branding (Edward Elgar Publishing).

In the same year, she founded the Swiss Center of Luxury Research at HEC Lausanne, where she also teaches the master course "Luxury Marketing". Her research has been published in top national and international journals. She also advises and trains managers mainly in the luxury and premium industries (mainly financial, automotive and hospitality) on the topic of transformational change.

In 2013, Felicitas Morhart was named one of the "Top 40 under 40" by the business magazine Bilanz for her influence in the Swiss business world. In July 2019, she was also named one of the top 100 successful women in Switzerland by the Swiss magazine "Women in Business".

BERNOLD RICHERZHAGEN
FOUNDER & CEO
SYNOVA S.A.

Bernold Richerzhagen is the founder and chief executive officer of Switzerland-based Synova S.A., the world pioneer in water jet-guided laser technology.

Synova’s proprietary technology was incubated at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) where Richerzhagen championed its transition from concept to today’s reality. Recognized worldwide as the inventor of water jet-guided technology, Richerzhagen has received several prestigious accolades, including: Technology Innovation awards from the Swiss Secretary of Economy (SECO) and the Cantons of Central Switzerland (1997); the Technopark Zurich Foundation and the Swiss Minister of Economy (1998); Entrepreneur of the Year from Ernst & Young Switzerland (2004); and the Frost & Sullivan’s European Technology Innovation Award (2005). He is author of several hundred articles and has addressed numerous conferences on the subject of water jet-guided technology. He also holds several patents on the development of the water jet-guided laser and related inventions such as laser dicing tape, water film for surface protection, laser trenching of semiconductor wafers, and gas-enveloped liquid jets.

Richerzhagen received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen (RWTH) in 1986 and 1988, respectively, and a Ph.D. in Microtechnics from EPFL in 1994. For his thesis, he joined EPFL’s Optical Applications Institute as an assistant working on medical lasers. In 1996, Richerzhagen founded an engineering office where he developed the first prototype of a water jet-guided laser machine, before founding Synova S.A to bring the Laser MicroJetTM to market in 1997.

FREDERIK DEGRYSE
CEO
ITRACEIT

Frederik Degryse has over 13 years of experience in the diamond industry. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of iTraceiT, a technology company that specializes in providing traceability solutions for the diamond and jewelry industry.

After completing his Advanced Master Degree in Management at Antwerp Management School, Frederik Degryse started his career as Project Officer at Antwerp World Diamond Centre, where he was responsible for facilitating “Project 2020”, the strategic repositioning of the Antwerp diamond sector.

After completing this project, Frederik became a Director at Dominion Diamond Corporation, the world’s third largest diamond producer. At Dominion, he was responsible for the company’s Canadamark program which focuses on Canadian diamond traceability. He was also responsible for facilitating Dominion’s rough sales.

Before joining iTraceiT, Frederik worked at UNI as the company’s President of European Operations. During this time, he was responsible for all European sales to brands and diamond procurement on the trading platform.

ANDREW RIMMER
CEO
OPSYDIA

Andrew, the CEO of Opsydia, is a seasoned entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in instrumentation, retail, and security technologies. Leading Opsydia, he drives the company's innovative use of laser technology to inscribe nano-identifiers inside diamonds and coloured stones, providing a physical link to the stone for traceability and anti-counterfeiting programmes. Andrew's strategic leadership and passion for innovation, position Opsydia at the forefront of technological advancements in the gemstone industry.

DAVID BLOCK
CEO
SARINE TECHNOLOGY GROUP

David Block is CEO of the Sarine Technology Group, one of the world's leading technology companies for the diamonds, gemstones and jewellery industries. Over the last 20 years at Sarine, David has played an instrumental role in the initiation, development and introduction of many of the revolutionary innovations the Group has brought to the diamond industry.

Under his guidance, Sarine's diamond planning systems have become the de facto standard for diamond manufacturing with over 100 million diamonds scanned each year. In 2009, David led the rollout of the unmatched Galaxy technology for rough diamond inclusion scanning, enabling diamond manufacturers for the first time ever to accurately consider the diamond's Clarity as an integral automated part of the planning process. For the past few years, Block has been spearheading Sarine's introduction of similarly uniquely innovative technologies further downstream - to the wholesale and retail trade of polished diamonds. Amongst these advances are notably the first technology based artificial intelligence driven polished diamond grading, a scalable diamond traceability solution based on verifiable data from Sarine’s technologies along the diamond pipeline, the emerging standard for light performance analysis, as well as other digital solutions to enable todays diamond retailers to better interact with their millennial customers.

David holds a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the Kellogg-Recanati School of Business, a joint degree from Northwestern University in the U.S. and Tel Aviv University in Israel, and a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Academic College in Israel.

WESLEY TUCKER
CEO
TRACR

Wesley Tucker is the CEO of Tracr the world’s leading distributed digital platform for tracing natural diamonds from source bringing you the ability to explore the provenance, authenticity and unique story of the journey your diamond has taken along the diamond value chain. Having worked as an electrical engineer for 7 years building mines across Africa and Australia his experience led him to Accenture where he led digital transformations for fortune100 resource companies. This experience in both industry and digital provided the perfect foundation to lead the De Beers digital transformation and to then head Tracr.

Under his leadership Tracr has load over 1 million diamonds on the platform at source representing over half of De Beers and over 15% of the worlds diamonds by value. Tracr has also been named on the Forbes Blockchain50 for the third time in 2022.

PRITESH PATEL
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & COO
GIA

Pritesh Patel, GIA’s senior vice president and chief operating officer, leads global operational strategy planning and supports GIA’s business unit and corporate functions. He has more than 20 years of corporate-level leadership experience and an extensive background in information technology.

THOMAS MOSES
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF LABORATORY AND RESEARCH OFFICER
GIA

Thomas M. Moses is the executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer of GIA, and a member of the GIA Board of Governors. He earned his GIA Graduate Gemologist diploma in 1976 and began work at the GIA laboratory in Santa Monica in 1977; in 1986, he joined the New York laboratory to understudy Robert Crowningshield, one of the world’s most revered gemologists, and follow in his footsteps.

FERIEL ZEROUKI
PRESIDENT - WORLD DIAMOND COUNCIL
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT - CORPORATE AFFAIRE, DE BEERS GROUP 

The Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs at the De Beers Group, Feriel Zerouki manages activities related to the organization's ethical and sustainable value chains, international relations, trade engagements, internal and external corporate communications, and GemFair, a capacity-building initiative aimed at enabling artisanal miners access the legitimate diamond supply chain. At De Beers, she previously served as Senior Vice President of International Relations and Ethical Initiatives, Head of Government and Industry Relations and Best Practice Principles Manager. She also is the Honorary Treasurer of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC).

RONNIE VANDERLINDEN

VICE PRESIDENT - WORLD DIAMOND COUNCIL
PRESIDENT - INTERNATIONAL DIAMOND MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION 

Ronnie began his career in the diamond industry in 1977 working as a diamond sawyer. In 1980, he broadened his training by joining a privately held international firm in New York, staying with the firm for nearly 10 years, gradually assuming greater responsibilities. This hands-on experience gave him the foundation he needed ultimately to open his own business, which he began in 1990. Ronnie is President of Diamex, Inc., a diamond manufacturer / wholesaler since 1976.

Ronnie has become well-known for his knowledge of both rough and polished diamonds. Nowadays, he finds himself traveling extensively in the USA, the Far East, Eastern and Western Europe, and Canada for business as well as consulting with other key industry leaders.

He has become deeply involved in all aspects of the industry by maintaining a number of top positions in national and global organizations. Ronnie is the immediate past President of the Diamond Manufacturers & Importers Association of America (DMIA) and the President of the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) and is the first and currently re-elected President of the United States Jewelry Council (USJC), an umbrella organization of 15 US associations.

He is Former Chairman of the Board of the New York Diamond Dealers Club; served as Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of the Diamond Manufacturers & Importers Association of America (DMIA); is Vice President of the World Diamond Council (WDC).

In addition, Ronnie is a member and Past President of the prestigious 24 Karat Club; holds a seat on the Executive Board of the 47th Street BID; is a member and board member of the American Jewish Committee, Jewelry Division; and a member and past board member of the AGS & member and past board member of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee.

BRUNO SCARSELLI

MANAGING PARTNER - SCARSELLI DIAMONDS, INC.
FOUNDER - AUTHENTIA.IO 

Bruno Scarselli is the Managing Partner at Scarselli Diamonds, Inc. He has been marketing and designing exclusive jewelry for a select clientele for over 35 years. He specializes in natural color diamonds and have owned and displayed some of the world's rarest and most valuable gems, such as the "Aurora Green", the "Kimberly Star", the "Golden Dragon", and the "Eye of the Dragon".

He is also the Founder of Nano Innovator Holdings Co, and Authentia.io a multidisciplinary Web3 platform building a trustworthy Patent-backed Public Multi-Blockchain and nanotechnology initiative for the world of Precious-Gems. 4 Generations of vertically integrated knowhow within the diamond Industry significantly contributed to file several Patents worldwide creating a Certificate of Origin (Mine’s solution); a Title of Ownership (Consumer’s solution); a Smartphone Reading App (Retailer’s solution).

This innovative solution aims to enhance the transparency, security, and integrity of the gem market, and to promote ethical and sustainable practices.

KLEMENS LINK
DIRECTOR
PROVENANCE PROOF

Klemens is absolutely convinced that provable transparency and traceability empowers trust, sustainability and fairness in the entire gem and jewellery industry and that consumers have a well-founded interest to learn more on the story behind the jewellery they desire. In his vision, all stakeholders should have the possibility to join the path of transparency and Provenance Proof is the tool for them to access it. Klemens has an Earth science background and is passionate about transforming technology-based visions into true-life applications. In the past, he headed the R&D in the Gübelin Gem Lab, one of the world’s most renowned gemstone laboratories. Today Klemens leads Provenance Proof, an independent, young company in the house of Gübelin, which has the mission to enable proven and technology-based traceability of gemstones and jewellery items through the entire supply chain to enhance the transparency in the industry.

VINIT JOGANI
DIRECTOR
LEMON-DIATECH GROUP

Vinit Jogani, currently the Director at the Lemon-Diatech Group, brings a robust background in software engineering and technology leadership, notably from his tenure at Google. Having worked on building advanced algorithms for graph search and fingerprinting, co-inventing a published patent, and developing groundbreaking GNNs, his experience reflects deep technical know-how of large-scale problems.

Since the last few years, he has been focusing on leveraging technology for the addressing the needs of the G&J industry. Along those lines, Diatech Platforms has recently launched Diatrace - a pioneering venture dedicated to revolutionizing the diamond industry's sustainability, traceability and certification standards. Diatrace leverages state-of-the-art Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, and encryption technologies to ensure every diamond's journey is ethically traceable from mine to market. Through Diatrace, Vinit's expertise in technology and his commitment to positive social and environmental impact converge, promising a more transparent, responsible, and sustainable future for the diamond industry.

GEORGE CHRISTODOULIDES
CHALHOUB GROUP PROFESSOR OF LUXURY BRAND MANAGEMENT | PROFESSOR OF MARKETING
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF SHARJAH

Professor George Christodoulides is holder of the Chalhoub Group Professorship in Luxury Brand Management at the American University of Sharjah in the UAE. He is named top 2% scientist worldwide based on Stanford's latest (2023) list. His research in luxury marketing has been published in high impact scientific journals. He is a regular speaker at international conferences and guest editor of special issues of journals around topics in luxury marketing. He is currently leading a special issue of the Journal of Consumer Behavior on "Luxury in the Circular Economy".