LONDON – Céline Assimon is stepping down as chief government officer of De Beers Jewellers in a pivotal second for the retail model, and the broader De Beers group.
Assimon, who joined De Beers in 2020, will stay till the tip of February earlier than taking on a brand new job exterior the group later this 12 months.
De Beers wished Assimon “the perfect for all future endeavors,” and stated a search is underway to recruit a successor.
The corporate stated Assimon “efficiently repositioned De Beers Jewellers as a design-led luxurious model by means of the enlargement of our inventive product portfolio in core collections and excessive jewelery.”
It added that Assimon “constructed the jeweler’s international model presence by means of relationships with market main companions and laid the groundwork for the launch of its Rue de la Paix flagship retailer in Paris later this 12 months.”
The model is about to open the flagship retailer within the fourth quarter in a constructing that has just lately been renovated.
De Beers additionally credited Assimon with revamping the appear and feel of the model, which shall be revealed in a brand new advert marketing campaign set for launch later this month.
Assimon succeeded François Delage as CEO of the jewellery enterprise, which is wholly owned by De Beers. In 2017, De Beers took management of what was previously a 50-50 retail three way partnership with LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
In 2021, Assimon took on the extra position of CEO on the De Beers Forevermark model, and served in that position till March 2024.
Earlier than becoming a member of De Beers, Assimon was CEO of the Swiss jeweler De Grisogono. She has additionally held positions throughout the gross sales, advertising and merchandising sectors of labels together with Piaget and Louis Vuitton.
Assimon’s depature comes amid wider modifications at De Beers group.
As reported, the mining large Anglo American is planning to promote or spin off De Beers as a part of an effort to simplify its portfolio, create worth for shareholders, and separate out non-core companies.
Anglo American, which is quoted on the London Inventory Change, stated in a inventory market submitting final 12 months that De Beers shall be divested or demerged “to enhance strategic flexibility,” each for the diamond firm and for Anglo American.
Over the previous 12 months, the mining large has been streamlining, promoting off belongings and has additionally introduced plans to separate its platinum enterprise because it focuses on its core copper, premium iron ore and crop vitamins companies.
Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Anglo’s plans to divest De Beers “can be substantively full” by the tip of 2025.
Reuters quoted Anglo CEO Duncan Wanblad as saying that De Beers shall be “totally arrange as a standalone enterprise to guarantee that it’s not going to be impacting as a drag in any means, form or kind on the enterprise.”
De Beers group has progressively turn out to be a drag. The worth of tough diamonds has been falling amid weakening demand post-COVID and a surge in reputation for lab-grown rocks amongst youthful generations.
The nation of Botswana, which owns a 15 % stake in De Beers, has supplied to boost its stake within the diamond miner as a part of the deliberate separation of De Beers.
The sale or spinoff of De Beers will mark the tip of an period. Anglo had been a shareholder within the diamond miner because the Nineteen Twenties, and took full management in 2011 after buying the Oppenheimer household’s shares.
Below the Oppenheimers, De Beers dominated the Twentieth-century world diamond market, increasing from mining into advertising, retail and branded diamonds underneath the Forevermark banner.