Members of the Antwerp diamond sector went to the polls on Wednesday to elect six members of the Board of Directors of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), which is the umbrella body that represents and serves the interests of the Antwerp diamond industry and trade.

According to the AWDC constitution, six of the organization’s 12-person Board of Directors are elected by direct election, which is managed in such a way as to ensure that smaller, medium-sized, and larger diamond companies are all represented. Three directors are appointed by the federation representing the city’s four diamond exchanges, one director is appointed by Antwerp’s diamond manufacturing associations, and one director is appointed by the employee organizations. The 12th position, an independent director, is appointed by the new board itself.

In the direct election, representatives of companies operating in the Antwerp diamond sector are divided into three groups according to the average turnover over the past two reported years, 2008 and 2009, with each group electing two representatives to the Board of Directors. The first group involves large trading companies with an average annual turnover in excess of € 100 million. The second group involves medium-sized companies with an average annual turnover of between € 30 million and € 100 million. The third group involves smaller companies with an average annual turnover of less than € 30 million.

In the direct elections yesterday, Amit Bhansali and Nishit Parkh were selected as directors in the more than € 100 million annual turnover category; Sohil Jhaveri and Nishit Kothari were selected as directors in the € 30 million to € 100 million annual turnover category; and Mihir Mehta and Samir Mehta were selected as directors in the lower than € 30 million annual turnover category.

Already selected to the new board are Philippe Barsamian, Freddy Inzlicht and Jacky Korn, representing the diamond exchanges; and Stéphane Fischler, representing the diamond manufacturers. The employees’ organizations will select their representative to the Board of Directors shortly.

The new Board of Directors will elect from among its members a new president for AWDC. The board will bid farewell to outgoing AWDC President Jacky Roth who will be retiring after four years in office.

Credit is given to AWDC online by DiamondTopics.com