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London, UK—De Beers Group recently announced that Nancy Liu, CEO of De Beers Forevermark, has decided to leave the business and Céline Assimon, currently CEO of De Beers Jewellers, will expand her role to lead both jewelry houses, effective September 5. In her expanded capacity, Assimon (image) will continue to report to Stephen Lussier, chairman of both jewelry houses, and will shape a coordinated offering focused on beautiful diamonds, inspiring design, and connecting consumers to De Beers’ Building Forever mission. 

Positioning the two jewelry houses under Assimon’s leadership represents the latest step in the company’s evolution to a ‘one De Beers’ strategy.

Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers Group, said: “Nancy has been instrumental in leading the development of De Beers Forevermark to its position as an internationally-recognised and trusted name for responsibly sourced, beautiful diamond jewellery. Personally, I have enjoyed learning from and working with Nancy, and all of us at De Beers Group thank Nancy for her outstanding work and we wish her all the best for the next chapter in her career.

During a 13-year career at De Beers Group, Liu has played a key role in the global development of the De Beers Forevermark business, leading the growth of the business in China, and establishing De Beers Forevermark as a leading player in the rapidly growing Chinese consumer market. She was appointed De Beers Forevermark CEO in 2019, and has led the development and implementation of the business’s wholesale and retail strategy. She will remain with the organization for two months to ensure a seamless transition.

Assimon, who joined De Beers Group as CEO of De Beers Jewellers in September 2020, has outstanding international experience in leading the growth of a range of leading businesses in the high-end jewelry and luxury sector.  

“Céline has already shown in her time with De Beers that she has a deep passion for diamonds and sustainability, allied to an extremely keen eye for detail and consumer tastes. She is the ideal person to lead both our jewelry houses in the exciting next phase of their development as we work to grow consumer desire for De Beers’ inspiring diamond jewelry and our commitment to creating a positive lasting legacy for the people and places where our diamonds are discovered,” continued Cleaver.