Gary Ralfe, one of the faces most often associated with diamond mining giant De Beers, on Wednesday announced his retirement from the group’s board after 34 years of service.
Ralfe has been credited for some of the major changes implemented at De Beers and across the diamond industry.
De Beers chairperson Nicky Oppenheimer said Ralfe will be remembered for the invaluable role he played in guiding the restructuring of De Beers — including its conversion from a supply- to a demand-driven business, and in the privatisation of the company.
“As MD, Gary was largely responsible for an historic chapter in the development of the De Beers family of companies,” Oppenheimer said.
A Cambridge University graduate, Ralfe joined Anglo American Corporation in 1966 and served the corporation in South Africa, Australia and France.
In 1974 he started working in what was known as the Diamond Section of the Chairman’s Office at 44 Main Street, Johannesburg.
Since then, with the exception of a brief interlude between 1983 and 1985 as secretary to the executive committee of Anglo, his life has been devoted to the diamond industry.
He spent five years in Antwerp and, in January 1986, was transferred to the then Central Selling Organisation (CSO) in London.
Ralfe served as a director of De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited (DBCM) from March 1990 to May 2006 and was also deputy chairperson of DBCM from May 2004 to April 2006.
He became MD of the CSO in January 1994 and, at the beginning of 1998, was appointed MD of De Beers globally.
While Ralfe retired in February 2006, he continued to serve as a non-executive director of De Beers SA.
He also served as a director of De Beers Centenary AG from May 1990 to May 2005 and as MD of that company from May 2000 to May 2005. — I-Net Bridge