After nine years as a top executive with GIA, Anna Martin is retiring from the institute on Dec. 31.
A former banker serving diamond and jewelry businesses, Martin joined GIA as senior vice president of global development in 2014. In January 2022, GIA named her senior vice president for institute and industry relations.
Martin tells JCK that she’s not planning to fully retire but hasn’t decided on her next step.
“I would love to stay involved in the industry,” says Martin. “You don’t just walk away from this business. I am going to take some time to think a little bit about the future. I need to consider what’s best for myself and my family before I decide what I’m going to do next.”
She adds: “Working at GIA has been so gratifying and an absolutely wonderful experience. I believe in their mission and I wish them luck, and I’ll be rooting for them from the sidelines.”
Martin is the current president of Diamonds Do Good and a member of the advisory boards of the Women’s Jewelry Association (WJA) and JCK. She intends to keep her affiliations with those groups, she says.
Prior to GIA, Martin spent four decades in the banking sector. She worked for 30 years at ABN Amro, where she rose to senior vice president and regional head for the Americas. After that, she became managing director for Standard Chartered Bank’s diamond and jewelry division.
Among Martin’s many honors, she was inducted into WJA’s Hall of Fame in 2007 and won a Triple Zero Award from the American Gem Society in 2008. She was a member of GIA’s board of governors from 1997 to 2011 and its vice chair from 2008 to 2011.
“I know Anna’s expertise will continue to benefit the global gem and jewelry industry,” said GIA president and CEO Susan Jacques in a statement. “For GIA, she is irreplaceable.”
(Photo courtesy of GIA)
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