A Diamond Industry Titan Departs: Feriel Zerouki to Leave De Beers After a Transformative 20-Year Career
In the high-stakes, glittering world of diamonds, where legacies are forged over centuries, the departure of a key architect of its modern ethical framework marks a significant moment. Feriel Zerouki, a name synonymous with provenance, responsibility, and innovation, has announced she will be leaving her role as De Beers’ Chief Trade and Industry Officer at the end of October. Her departure after two decades of dedicated service signals the end of an era for the iconic Diamond Provenance company and prompts reflection on a career that has reshaped the industry’s approach to transparency and social responsibility.
Zerouki is more than just an executive; she has been a driving force, a staunch advocate, and a visionary leader whose influence extends far beyond the corporate corridors of De Beers. Her work has touched every facet of the diamond pipeline, from empowering artisanal miners in Sierra Leone to pioneering blockchain technology that tracks a diamond’s journey from deep within the earth to the final customer. While she moves on from De Beers, her formidable presence will continue to be felt as she remains at the helm of the World Diamond Council, guiding the industry through its most pressing challenges.
A Two-Decade Journey of Impact and Innovation
Feriel Zerouki’s story at De Beers began in 2005. She joined not as a high-profile executive, but as a business and supply chain analyst. It was a foundational role that gave her a granular understanding of the intricate, globe-spanning logistics that underpin the diamond trade. However, her passion and intellect quickly propelled her towards the heart of the company’s most critical challenges: ethics, responsible sourcing, and international relations.
In an industry still working to overcome the shadow of “conflict diamonds,” Zerouki became deeply involved in De Beers’ responsible business initiatives. She demonstrated a rare ability to bridge the gap between corporate strategy and on-the-ground reality, understanding that true change required more than just policies—it required building trust, fostering partnerships, and creating tangible value for communities. This focus defined her ascent through the company, culminating in her appointment as Chief Trade and Industry Officer in May 2023. In this pivotal role, she became the face of De Beers in its engagement with governments, civil society, and industry bodies, championing the standards that protect the integrity of natural diamonds.
Championing Provenance and Technology: The Legacy of Tracr
Perhaps one of Zerouki’s most enduring legacies at De Beers is her oversight of Tracr, the company’s revolutionary diamond-tracking platform. In an age where consumers demand to know the origin and journey of their products, Tracr was a game-changing response that brought the ancient diamond industry firmly into the 21st century.
What is Tracr? A Revolution in Diamond Traceability
Launched under Zerouki’s strategic guidance, Tracr is a blockchain-powered platform designed to provide immutable, transparent, and secure traceability for every diamond registered on it. The concept is elegantly powerful: from the moment a rough diamond is unearthed, it is assigned a unique digital identity, or a “digital twin.” As this diamond is cut, polished, and set, every step of its journey is recorded on the secure blockchain ledger. This creates an unalterable digital trail that follows the stone from the mine all the way to the retail counter.
For the industry, Tracr solves a multitude of problems. It provides absolute assurance of a diamond’s provenance, effectively locking out conflict diamonds from the legitimate supply chain. It enhances efficiency for manufacturers and retailers by digitizing complex inventory and certification processes. Most importantly, it builds consumer confidence, offering a guarantee that their purchase is not only beautiful but also ethically sourced.
Zerouki’s Visionary Role
Feriel Zerouki didn’t just manage this project; she championed its vision. She understood that technology was not an end in itself, but a tool to deliver on the industry’s promise of integrity. She spearheaded the platform’s development and its rollout, navigating the complexities of securing industry-wide adoption and demonstrating how technological innovation could be harnessed to uphold the highest ethical standards. Her work with Tracr has set a new benchmark for traceability that other luxury sectors now seek to emulate.
Empowering Communities: The Heart of GemFair
While Tracr showcases Zerouki’s technological acumen, her work on GemFair reveals her profound humanitarian commitment. GemFair is De Beers’ pioneering program designed to create a secure and transparent route to market for artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM), starting in Sierra Leone.
The Plight of Artisanal Miners
For decades, artisanal miners, who represent a significant portion of the global diamond workforce, have often operated in the informal economy. This has left them vulnerable to exploitation, unsafe working conditions, and unfair pricing from intermediaries. Their contributions to the diamond supply were often unrecognised and unrewarded, creating a cycle of poverty in some of the world’s most resource-rich regions.
How GemFair Created a Pathway to Prosperity
Under Zerouki’s leadership, GemFair was developed to directly address these systemic issues. The program works with accredited ASM sites, providing miners with training on ethical mining standards, fair valuation, and safe operational practices. It equips them with a dedicated digital toolkit that allows them to log their diamonds in a tamper-proof system at the point of discovery. GemFair then guarantees to purchase these ethically sourced diamonds at a fair market price, integrating these miners into the formal global market. This initiative is a testament to Zerouki’s belief that a responsible diamond industry must uplift every single person along its supply chain. It has transformed lives in Sierra Leone, providing sustainable livelihoods and proving that ethical sourcing and commercial success can, and should, go hand in hand.
A Continuing Voice for the Industry
Although she is leaving De Beers, Feriel Zerouki’s leadership role within the global diamond trade is far from over. She currently serves as the President of the World Diamond Council (WDC), the organisation that represents the entire diamond industry in the Kimberley Process (KP). This is a critically important position, as the WDC works to ensure the KP remains effective in its mission to eradicate conflict diamonds. Her peers have entrusted her with this role until May 2026, a clear signal of the immense respect she commands across the sector.
Her influence is further solidified by her membership on the executive committees of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) and the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), two of the most important bodies dedicated to upholding legal compliance and ethical standards in the jewelry industry. Her continued presence in these organisations ensures her expertise will help shape policy and best practices for years to come.
Tributes and The Path Forward
The announcement of Zerouki’s departure has been met with an outpouring of respect and admiration from industry leaders who have witnessed her dedication firsthand. In a formal statement, De Beers CEO Al Cook celebrated her immense contributions. “She has played a pivotal role in establishing and upholding the highest standards of integrity and provenance within De Beers and across the global diamond industry,” he remarked. “Her strategic insight and leadership have contributed meaningfully to initiatives that will leave a lasting impact on the sector.”
Ronnie VanderLinden, Vice President of the World Diamond Council and a longtime colleague, offered a more personal tribute to JCK, highlighting her exceptional character and intellect. “Feriel is one of the most capable and intelligent people in our industry,” he stated, “and she will absolutely succeed at whatever she chooses to do after De Beers.”
Looking ahead, De Beers has indicated that it does not plan to appoint a direct replacement. A spokesperson confirmed that “Feriel’s responsibilities are being redistributed elsewhere in De Beers.” This decision itself speaks volumes about the unique and multifaceted nature of her role, which blended diplomacy, technological oversight, and social enterprise in a way that will be difficult to replicate in a single individual.
In her own words, Zerouki reflected on her long tenure with gratitude and pride. “Being part of De Beers has been an extraordinary journey,” she said. “I am immensely proud of what we have built together, and deeply grateful for the people and partnerships that have defined these 20 years.”
As Feriel Zerouki prepares to embark on the next chapter of her career, she leaves behind a transformed landscape at De Beers and a legacy of integrity that has fortified the entire natural diamond industry. Her work has proven that a diamond’s true value lies not only in its sparkle but in the verifiable, ethical, and transparent journey it takes from mine to market. The standards she helped build will continue to shine brightly, long after her departure.
