Douglas K. Hucker (pictured), longtime CEO of the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA), has left the group he has headed for 24 years.
Current president Kimberly Collins will serve as the interim CEO, while the board looks for a new chief executive. Collins was just elected president of the board in February.
“I am not retiring,” Hucker tells JCK. “I am passionate about the colored gemstone industry. I am looking forward to heading down a new road.”
He calls the separation “amicable.”
“Anyone who has served on an AGTA board is passionate and committed,” he says. “They should have the best team that they need in Dallas. I am AGTA through and through, and I wish the board all the best. If I can support them in any way, I will.”
Hucker came to AGTA after serving as president and partner of The Registry, an estate jewelry company. Prior to that, he served as director of marketing for Krementz Gemstones. He got his start in the industry as a photographer at the Gemological Institute of America and later became an instructor.
He had served as AGTA’s CEO since 1997.
In 2018, he received the American Gem Society’s Robert M. Shipley Award, its most prestigious honor. Two years earlier, he won the group’s Triple Zero Award.
AGTA hailed Hucker for building relations with groups such as CIBJO, the Women’s Jewelry Association, the Gemological Institute of America, Gem-A, Platinum Guild International, the Diamond Council of America, and Jewelers of America. He also helped build AGTA’s GemFair in Tucson and recently added the Las Vegas Gem and Jewelry Show and The Hard Rock Summit in Denver to AGTA’s lineup.
“As more than two decades of service ends with Doug’s departure, we know there will be stories recollected for years to come of his involvement in the colored gemstone industry and all who have encountered him on personal and professional matters,” Collins said in a statement. “He is a respected friend to many, and his leadership will be remembered as AGTA moves into the next phase of growth and development. The AGTA Board of Directors wishes Doug and his family good health, prosperity, and the best for their future endeavors.”
(Photo courtesy of the American Gem Trade Association)
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