COMINGS AND GOINGS
>>?Caryl Capeci (pictured), chief marketing officer for Hearts On Fire, is now its president. Chief financial officer Tom Carlo is now also taking on the role of chief operating officer. Gilly Strauss, formerly HOF’s executive vice president of sales, will become president of Memoire, which HOF purchased in 2004. Founder Glenn Rothman remains CEO, though he is stepping away from day-to-day management.
>>?DGSE Companies named Nabil J. Lopez, currently senior vice president and controller, to replace Brett Burford as chief financial officer.
>>?India’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council has elected Praveenshankar Pandya chair and Russell Mehta vice chair for 2015–2017.
>>?Brad Brooks-Rubin, former U.S. State Department adviser for conflict diamonds who worked on the GIA’s beneficiation efforts for the past year, has joined the Enough Project as policy director.
>>?Cartier CEO Stanislas de Quercize has resigned and will be replaced by Cyrille Vigneron, current president of LVMH Japan. De Quercize will become chair of Richemont France.
>>?Dominion Diamond Corp., the Canadian mining company, has hired Debbie Hiss as a consultant to its CanadaMark diamond brand. Hiss previously worked for Forevermark, Hearts On Fire, and GIA.
>>?Gino Di Geso has stepped down as director of the Natural Color Diamond Association after nearly a decade. He is joining L.J. West Diamonds as director of marketing.
>>?The World Diamond Council, which represents the industry in front of the Kimberley Process, has elected Alrosa exec Andrey Polyakov as its vice president. He will succeed president Edward Asscher when the latter’s two-year term expires in May 2016.
Adam Gurian
>>?Frederick Goldman has named Adam Gurian chief commercial officer, a new role from which he will now lead Scott Kay. Former president Michael Benavente has left to become executive vice president of sales of Bulova.
>>?David Gasway has been named director of sales, Eastern region at Joshua J Fine Jewelry, the Los Angeles–based manufacturer.
REMEMBERED
>>?Lou Blank, 81, former vice president of New York diamond cutting and importing company Joseph Blank Inc., died at his home in New York City on Nov. 9.
>>?John Turner, 79, owner of John’s Coin and Jewelry in Austin, Ind., died of a gunshot wound sustained during a robbery Nov. 7 at his store.
>>?Mort Gershman, former president of Movado, died Nov. 2 at age 89.
>>?Sol Meller, president of 100-year-old Los Angeles retailer Feldmar Watch Co., died Nov. 30 from pancreatic cancer. He was 69.
>>?Charlotte Preston, who served as executive director of the Jewelers Education Foundation and organized scores of industry educational events and conferences, died Oct. 8 of cancer at age 62.
Joe Thompson
HONORED
>>?Jewelers of America announced that Joe Thompson, editor-in-chief of WatchTime magazine, will receive the 2016 GEM Award for Lifetime Achievement.