Ralfe Retires from De Beers Board
July 23, 08
Two and half years after he left the post of Managing Director of De Beers, Gary Ralfe retired from the Board of De Beers sa at its meeting in Luxembourg Tuesday.
 Former De Beers MD Ralfe transformed the diamond giant |
De Beers Chairman Nicky Oppenheimer said Ralfe’s energy, drive, dedication and loyalty have been essential ingredients in De Beers continuing success.
“Gary will be remembered for his unflagging search for innovation and continuous improvement in the way we organize our business, and for the invaluable role he played in guiding the restructuring of De Beers – including our conversion from a supply to a demand driven business, and in the privatization of the company,” Oppenheimer said in a statement Wednesday.
“As MD, Gary was largely responsible for an historic chapter in the development of the De Beers Family of Companies.”
Ralfe joined Anglo American Corporation in 1966 and served the corporation in South Africa, Australia and France. In 1974, he started working in what was known as the Diamond Section of the Chairman’s Office in Johannesburg.
Since then, with the exception of a brief interlude between 1983 and 1985 as secretary to the executive committee of Anglo, his life has been devoted to the diamond industry. He spent five years in Antwerp and, in January 1986, was transferred to the then Central Selling Organisation (CSO) in London.
He served as a director of De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited (DBCM) from March 1990 to May 2006 and was Deputy Chairman of DBCM from May 2004 to April 2006.
He became Managing Director of the CSO in January 1994 and, at the beginning of 1998 was appointed Managing Director of De Beers. Gary retired in February 2006, but continued to serve as a non-executive director of De Beers sa. He also served as a director of De Beers Centenary AG from May 1990 to May 2005 and as MD of that company from May 2000 to May 2005.