Diamond Board of Namibia
2015 International Diamond Conference

YOUR 2015 SPEAKERS

Hon. Obeth Mbuipaha Kandjoze
Minister of Mines and Energy, Namibia

Currently Namibia’s Minister of Mines and Energy, Hon. Obeth Mbuipaha Kandjoze, holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, a Master of Science Degree (Geology) from the University of Helsinki and completed a Management Development Programme at the University of Stellenbosch Business School, South Africa.

The Honorable Minister began his career as a GIS Geologist at the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (NAMCOR) in 1994, became the Country Exploration Manager in 1995, Petroleum Explorationist in 1997, and Senior Petroleum Geologist in 1999.

During 2006, he took on the post of New Ventures and Promotion Unit Manager at NAMCOR before becoming Exploration and Production Manager at the corporation in 2007. In 2012, Hon. Kandjoze became the Managing Director of NAMCOR before taking up his current role as Minister.

Chaim Even-Zohar
Principal of Tacy Ltd.

Chaim Even-Zohar is principal of Tacy Ltd, a Tel Aviv-based consultancy established in 1984 specializing in all aspects of the international diamond business and its clients include mostly governments, mining companies, trade associations, other consultants, and financial institutions. The company has over 30 years of continuous involvement in the industry. He is also principal of CEZ Holdings Ltd., a media company.

Honors and Awards

Mr. Even-Zohar is an Honorary Life Member of the Israel Diamond Exchange. He is the recipient of the prestigious Israel Diamond Industry's Dignitary Award “Yakir Hatasiya”, awarded mostly to the industry’s “founding fathers” or equivalents. In 2013 he was awarded an Honorary Life Membership of the Diamond Dealers Club in New York, America’s largest diamond bourse. Moreover, he was also awarded Honorary Life Membership of the Diamond Dealers Club of South Africa and of the Dubai Diamond Exchange.

He is a member of the World Diamond Council, and a past member of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS). He has also been honored by various other organizations, including the Indian Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council. 

Pranay Narvekar
Partner at the Management Consulting company Pharos Beam Consulting LLP

Pranay Narvekar, partner at the Management Consulting company Pharos Beam Consulting LLP, has emerged as a leading expert on many of the crucial strategic, financial and structural problems facing the diamond industry pipeline. He has spoken regularly at International Industry Conferences and has also worked on business restructuring and strategic consulting. He works closely with the GJEPC on various projects, including heading their MyKYCBank project. He has also worked on projects intending to launch diamond-based financial products.

India-based Pranay worked with Accenture in their Management Consulting Practice for over 10 years, where he was involved in the management of projects in numerous industries including Automobiles, Consumer Goods, IT Services, Non-Ferrous Metals, Oil and Gas, Pharmaceuticals, Retail, Telecom and the Gem and Jewellery Industry.

In the early part of this decade he became more and more involved in issues related to the structural transformation of the diamond industry. From 2006 till early 2011, he worked with Rosy Blue, a major vertically integrated Indian diamond and jewellery company, looking at the areas of Global Strategy and New Initiatives.

Ernest Blom
President, World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB)

In 1978 Mr Ernest Blom founded Ernest Blom Diamonds and in 1986, the company changed its name to Ernest Blom Diamond Cutting Works, a title it still holds and operates under today.

Mr Blom was a founder member of the World Diamond Council which forms part of the Kimberley Process in 2000 and following this accomplishment, in 2003 became the Chairman of the Diamond Dealers Club of South Africa.

During 2008, Mr Blom became the Honorary Life President of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses and in 2012 he took the seat of President of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses.

In 2013, he was appointed as the Economic Diplomacy Advisor to

Belgium in South Africa and currently still fulfils this role. 

Programme
Programme

Programme

Challenges facing diamond beneficiation in Southern Africa:

How can we make this industry viable and sustainable?

 

Sunday, 22 November 2015 - Safari Hotel
17:30 - 19:30 Pre-Registration  

PLEASE NOTE: THE PROGRAMME IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE
Monday, 23 November 2015 - Safari Hotel
07:30 - 09:00 Registration, Coffee, Networking  
09:00 - 09:30 Namibian National Anthem & AU Anthem Inauguration and addressing the gathering. Keynote: Namibia perspective: challenges facing diamond beneficiation in Southern Africa Hon. Obeth Mbui Kandjoze, Minister of Mines & Energy, Namibia
09:30 - 10:00 Challenges facing diamond beneficiation in Southern Africa: How can we make this industry viable and sustainable Chaim Even Zohar (Moderator) Principal of Tacy Ltd;
Pranay Narvekar (Co-Moderator), Partner at the management consulting company Pharos Beam Consulting LLP
10:00 - 10:30 Beneficiation in Africa, where we were, where we are now, where are we going and can it be sustainable? Ernest Blom, President, World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), President, Diamond Bourse, Johannesburg, SA
10:30 - 11:00 Coffee & Networking  
11:00 - 11:30 Diamond Beneficiation: Think global. Think Local. Stephen Lussier, Executive Vice President, Forever Mark, De Beers
11:30 - 12:00 Challenges facing diamond beneficiation in Southern Africa: How can we make this industry viable and sustainable Maurice Tempelsman, Chairman of the board of directors of Lazare Kaplan International Inc. (LKI)
12:00 - 12:30 Sustainable 'beneficiation' the beginning or the end of a dream? Burhan Seber, Honorary Consul for the Republic of Turkey in Namibia; Managing Director Hard Stone Processing(Pty.)Ltd.; Former President of DIAMAN
12:30 - 14:00 Lunch  
14:00 - 14:30 Marine Mining to Sustain Namibian Diamond Production Kombadayedu Kapwanga, Managing Director, LLD Diamonds Namibia(Pty)Ltd
14:30 - 15:00 Beneficiation in Challenging Times: Maximizing Revenue Through Strategic Partnerships Ari Epstein, CEO, Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC)
15:00 - 15:30 Beneficiation: global context for diamond cutting and polishing Shihaleni Ndjaba, Chief Executive Officer of the Namibia Diamond Company(NDTC)
15:30 - 16:00 Challenges facing diamond beneficiation in Southern Africa: How can we make this industry viable and sustainable Cecil Khosa, General Manager: Regulatory Compliance for the South African Diamondand Precious Metals Regulator(SADPMR).
16:00 - 16:30 Maximising diamond beneficiation's impact in the poverty fight: A Namibian Perspective Ndeulipula Hamutumwa, Managing Director of Ongudi Investments (Pty) Ltd
16:30 - 17:00 Panel discussion Chaim Even Zohar (Moderator) Principal of Tacy Ltd;
Pranay Narvekar (Co-Moderator), Partner at the management consulting company Pharos Beam Consulting LLP
Tuesday, 24 November 2015 - Safari Hotel
09:00 - 09:15 Second Day Conference, Opening Remarks Chaim Even Zohar (Moderator) Principal of Tacy Ltd;
Pranay Narvekar (Co-Moderator), Partner at the management consulting company Pharos BeamConsulting LLP
09:15 - 09:45 Challenges facing diamond beneficiation in Southern Africa: How can we make this industry viable and sustainable Hon. Walter Chidakwa - Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Zimbabwe
09:45 - 10:15 What Namibia and Botswana need to do to make beneficiation work Professor Roman Grynberg, Professor Economics & Management Sciences, University of Namibia
10:15 - 10:35 Coffee & Networking  
10:35 - 10:50 Escort to Ministry of Mines - Vehicles outside the conference venue  
10:50 - 11:20 The National Earth Science Museum, MME Namibia Shining Lights Exhibition Opening exclusive to the delegation. Heritage Journey.  
11:20 - 11:40 Book Launch: Diamond Book Of Namibia, A Beautiful Journey Mr.Simeon Niilenge Negumbo, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Mines and Energy
11:40 - 12:00 Escort to Safari Hotel - Vehicles outside the conference venue  
12:00 - 12:20 Book launch: The Global Diamond Industry: Economics and Development. It brings together a collection of papers covering various aspects of the diamond industry including economics, law, history, sociology and development. Professor Roman Grynberg, Professor Economics & Management Sciences, University of Namibia
12:30 - 14:00 Lunch  
14:00 - 14:30 Challenges facing diamond beneficiation in Southern Africa: How can we make this industry viable and sustainable Conrad Dempsey, Co – Head of RMB Namibia, Corporate and Investment Banking Division of FNB Namibia
14:30 - 15:00 Conclusive speech - Challenges facing diamond beneficiationin Southern Africa: How can we make this industry viable and sustainable Kennedy Hamutenya, Diamond Commissioner of Namibia
15:00 - 15:30 Closing Remarks - Namibian National Anthem & AU Anthem Chaim Even Zohar (Moderator) Principal of Tacy Ltd;
Pranay Narvekar (Co-Moderator), Partner at the management consulting company Pharos BeamConsulting LLP
19:00 - 20:00 GALA DINNER Reception at the Parliament Gardens, Windhoek, Namibia