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New York, NY--David Kellie, CEO of the Natural Diamond Council (NDC), will leave the position at the end of the year, he said on a LinkedIn post Sunday.

Kellie in his LinkedIn post said he was retiring but left the door open for future opportunities.

“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,” Kellie said in his post. “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.”

He continued, “My plans after the NDC? To enjoy a life of retirement, spending more time with friends and family, and traveling more. Unless something exciting tempts me to do otherwise!”

The NDC was initially established as the Diamond Producers Association and led by CEO Jean-Marc Lieberherr. It was rebranded as the Natural Diamond Council in 2020 with Kellie replacing Lieberherr as the CEO.

The NDC is a not-for-profit organization to educate and promote “the positive impact of natural diamonds and the natural diamond industry.” The organization is largely funded by De Beers, Angolan Diamond Producers and other mining companies. In June, diamond producing countries: Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo, signed an accord to provide 1% donation of annual rough export value for NDC marketing efforts.

Prior to joining NDC in 2019, Kellie was the head of U.S. Marketing for Watches of Switzerland and spent 14 years with Ralph Lauren serving numerous positions before leaving in 2017 as senior VP of Marketing. For further information see https://www.naturaldiamonds.com/