Diamond Board of Namibia
2015 International Diamond Conference

YOUR 2015 SPEAKERS

Kennedy Hamutenya
Diamond Commissioner, Namibian Ministry of Mines and Energy

After attending school in Cameroon, Kennedy Attained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines, Golden Colorado, USA in 1993.

After returning to Namibia he became the Inspector of Mines in 1995, followed by the Secretary to the Diamond Board in 1996. During 1999, Kennedy became the Director of Mines at the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Director of the Namdeb Diamond Corporation, and Deputy Chairperson, De Beers Marine Namibia.

Since 2000, he has been the Chairperson of both the Namgem Diamond Manufacturing Company and the Minerals Development Fund and in 2006 until 2011 was the Commissioner, Legal and Technical Commission, International Seabed Authority.

In 2013 Kennedy was appointed as Director of Namdeb Holdings and became the Lead Negotiator on the Namibian Government Negotiation Team (GNT) with De Beers on the Diamond Sales and Marketing Agreement. From 2014 he has been the Chairperson of Debmarine Namibia and curently holds the title of Diamond Commissioner.

Michelle McLean-Bailey
Director of Ceremonies

Miss Namibia 1991 Miss Universe 1992 Michelle is an entrepreneur and philanthropist, with over 25 years of experience in business and media. She is a world class MC, Speaker, TV presenter, and Founder and Chairperson of the Michelle McLean-Children Trust. Close to her heart is the Michelle McLean Children Trust, which she established in 1992 after winning Miss Universe. The Trust built a primary school in her name and provides education for over 980 children. The Trust has initiated and still manages hundreds of projects, including ten projects for Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. It has raised to date, in the past 24 years, over R60 million. She was the official Ambassador for the Diamond Board of Namibia in its Centenary Year of the discovery of diamonds in Namibia in 2009 and will now officiate the Diamond Conference this year in November 2015.

Neville Basson
Director of Ceremonies

Neville Basson is a well-known media personality, well-sought after public speaker and events management expert. He combines his public speaking technique brilliantly with humor. These attributes in his style is a big draw-card for audiences country-wide looking for program direction combined with entertainment. His style elevated him to preside over the wedding of the President of the Republic of Namibia, Dr Hage Geingob, Major Government event initiatives and various Major Corporate Entities, and SOEs nationally.

He is a well-known television personality and seasoned comedian hosting various television shows for the last 20 years.

With over 15 years’ experience in Marketing and Media Management with various corporates, his career shows a healthy pedigree of knowledge.

Neville currently serves on the Directorships of Raotra Investments and Takii Investments. 

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