Diamond Board of Namibia
2015 International Diamond Conference

YOUR 2015 SPEAKERS

Ari Epstein
Chief Executive Officer - Antwerp World Diamond Centre

Ari Epstein is 39 years old, married and the father of three children – two girls and one boy.

He graduated in 2001 with a Master of Laws  from Antwerp University, and in 2010 from INSEAD Fontainebleau.

In 1999 Ari started his professional career as Chief Legal Advisor of Itecs BV, specializing in providing the best legal framework for IT-expatriates working within the EU and focusing on double-taxation law & labour law.

From 2001 to 2005, he acquired extensive experience in international insurance law as an associate of Hopland and subsequently as a partner in the Flieger Law Office, which is specialised in international corporate structures.

In 2005, Ari joined the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), the representative body of the Antwerp diamond industry as Director of the Diamond Office (customs office), where he oversaw the daily imports and exports of 250 million USD-worth of diamonds.

In 2008, he was appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer of AWDC, and on January 1 2011, he was appointed CEO of the AWDC and board member of HRD Antwerp NV.

Shihaleni Ndjaba
Chief Executive Officer of the Namibia Diamond Trading Company (NDTC)

Currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Namibia Diamond Trading Company (NDTC), Shihaleni started his career in 1991 as a Deputy Director and eventually became Director of Operations in the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources in Namibia. In this time he contributed to the proper management and sustainable development of Namibia’s marine resources, which, among others, included allocation of rights of exploitation of such resources.

After working in this sector he moved on to become the Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance. In this role he dealt with issues such as national budget formulation, development of economic policies in various sectors and allocation of scarce and competitive financial resources to the various sectors of the economy via the national budget. Shihaleni also served as Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Agricultural Bank of Namibia (Agribank) and served as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communications.

As a government senior official, Shihaleni served as the head of the government negotiation team during the last negotiation process for the current Sales and Marketing Agreement between the Government of Namibia and De Beers. Shihaleni has been the pioneering CEO of the NDTC for the past four and half years, and has gained deeper insight and understanding of the diamond industry, including diamond sorting and valuation, diamond sales and diamond beneficiation. He is happily married to Dr Hilen Ndjaba and they have 3 girls and one boy.

Cecil Khosa
General Manager: Regulatory Compliance for the South African Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator (SADPMR)

Mr Cecil Khosa is a General Manager: Regulatory Compliance for the South African Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator (SADPMR). He is responsible for the implementation of regulatory regime in licensing and industry compliance in terms of the Diamond Act as well as the Precious Metals Act. The SADPMR is established to regulate control over possession, the purchase, and sale of diamonds, the processing and the export of diamonds and precious metals. One of the core functions of the SADPMR is to facilitate the buying, selling, exporting and importing of diamonds through its Diamond Exchange and Export Center (DEEC).

Mr Khosa brings a significant wealth of mining and business experience, gained over a period of 18 years, of both regulatory and industry experience in the Mining Rights and Environmental Management disciplines. He possesses a Postgraduate Degree in Earth Sciences - Mining. 

His previous employers include the South African Department of Minerals and Energy where he served as a Deputy Director: Environmental Management in the Mineral Regulation division. In the department he was involved in the development of policies including the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 and its supporting guidelines.

He also worked as Environmental Manager (also acting as exploration and mining rights and compliance advisory role) for Harmony Gold Mining. He also was managing director of a consulting company advising investors, exploration and mining companies on the regulatory and compliance aspects of the mining and minerals industry.

Ndeulipula Hamutumwa
Managing Director of Ongudi Investments (Pty) Ltd

Ndeulipula Hamutumwa is a business leader and consultant with varied experience in the diamond industry.

During his 5-year stint as the head of Diamond Marketing Consultation, he participated in international product analysis, marketing and trading of Namibian diamonds. He has advised government on diamond policy, is a qualified diamond valuator, and has conducted extensive research (incl. his Masters thesis in Business Leadership) on diamond beneficiation in Namibia, with a keen focus on value addition throughout the Diamond Pipeline.

Currently, Mr Hamutumwa is the Managing Director of Ongudi Investments (PTY) LTD - a company that specializes in commercial investments in various strategic sectors. He is also the Executive Chairman of Ariya Bridge Capital (PTY)LTD, and serves on a number of public and private boards.

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