Eli Izhakoff

Eli Izhakoff has been one of the international diamond and jewelry industry’s most prominent leaders, filling a variety of public position since the 1970s.

Eli Izhakoff

Early career

A member of a family that pioneered the diamond industry both in the United States and Israel, he has long been as a partner at J. Izhakoff & Sons, a diamond manufacturing and import/export firm, with offices in New York at 580 Fifth Avenue.

In 1979, he first joined the board of directors of the Diamond Dealers Club in New York, the largest diamond exchange in the United States, and in the years that followed held several senior positions, including chairman of the board and secretary.

He was elected to serve as treasurer-general of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, a global body that unites diamond exchanges around the world in 1986, and was appointed a member of its Executive Committee.

In January 1990, he was elected president of the Diamond Dealers Club and immediately conceived and formed the Diamond Industry Steering Committee, an umbrella organization of the four diamond trade associations in New York, and served as its first chairman.[1]

World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB)

At the World Diamond Congress, which was held in May 1991 in London, England, Mr. Izhakoff was unanimously elected president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB). He was unanimously re-elected for a second term at the following World Diamond Congress, which was held in Antwerp, Belgium, in June 1993. At the World Diamond Congress held in Tel Aviv, Israel, in May 1996, he was unanimously re-elected for an unprecedented third term as WFDB president.[2]

During his term as WFDB president his played an instrumental role the expansion of the federation, and oversaw the establishment of new diamond bourses in Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, China, Russia and India.

Upon completion of his third term as WFDB president at the World Diamond Congress in Bangkok, Thailand, in July 1998, he was unanimously elected as Honorary Life President of the WFDB.

World Diamond Council

Following the emergence of the conflict diamond crisis in Africa in the late 1990s, Mr. Izhakoff was requested by industry leaders to head a new organization that would coordinate efforts to end the trade in rough diamonds financing civil conflict. Called the World Diamond Council (WDC), it was established at the World Diamond Congress in Antwerp, Belgium, in July 2000, and he was unanimously elected as its Founding President.[3]

Over the three years that followed. Mr. Izhakoff worked together with government representatives from around the world and representatives of civil society, to create an international system that will regulate the flow of rough diamonds into the distribution pipeline, in order to eliminate the presence of merchandise from areas of civil conflict. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, of which he is considered an architect, was accepted an implemented in 2003, and endorsed by the United Nations Security Council. It is recognized as having reduced the number of conflict diamonds in the pipeline from more than 4 percent of the total to less than one tenth of 1 percent.

In November 2006, Mr. Izhakoff, briefed G8 ministers in Moscow on the Kimberley Process and its success as a possible model to meet the challenges of global terror.[4]

When he stepped down as WDC President in 2013, he was elected Honorary Life President of the organization.

Panama

In 2014, Mr. Izhakoff was invited to assist in the development of a major project in the Republic of Panama, the goal of which was to establish the first dedicated diamond, colored gemstone and jewelry trading center in Latin America. Called the World Jewelry Hub, it also is the headquarters of Latin America's first recognized diamond bourse, the World Jewelry & Diamond Hub, Panama.[5]

Recognition and awards

Playing an instrumental role in the establishment of the Dubai Diamond Exchange in 2004, he is a member of the board of directors of several other organizations, and also holds the titles of Honorary Chairman of the Diamond Industry Steering Committee, New York, USA; Honorary President of the Diamond Dealers Club, New York, USA; and Honorary Chairman of the Bangkok Diamonds and Precious Stones Exchange, Bangkok, Thailand.

At the CIBJO Congress in Vancouver, Canada, in 2006, Mr. Izhakoff was named an Honorary Life President of CIBJO, The World Jewellery Confederation.

Among the many awards and decorations he has received are the Officer of the Order of Leopold from the King of Belgium,[6] the Rapaport Award for Corporate Social Responsibility,[7] the Israel Diamond Industry Dignitary Award,[8] the New York Diamond Industry Lifetime Achievement Award, Diamantaire of the Year from the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), the Medal of Honor from the Israel Diamond Institute, a special award from the Israel Diamond Exchange, the Andrea Palladio International Jewellery Award for Corporate and Social Responsibility,[9] and special honors from the president of the Republic of Sakha, the government of Thailand, the government of South Africa[10][11] and the Dubai Multi Commodities Center.[12]

References

  1. ↑ https://www.nyddc.com/about-the-ddc.html
  2. ↑ http://www.wfdb.com/aboutus/history
  3. ↑ https://www.worlddiamondcouncil.org/index.php/about-wdc/history
  4. ↑ http://www.diamonds.net/News/NewsItem.aspx?ArticleID=16200&ArticleTitle=Izhakoff+Addresses+G8+Ministers+on+KP+and+Combating+Terror+
  5. ↑ http://pde.com.pa/news/world-jewelry-hub-inaugurated-in-panama-city-hosts-first-latin-american-diamond-jewelry-week/
  6. ↑ http://www.jckonline.com/article/288722-Eli_Izhakoff_Honored_by_King_of_Belgium.php
  7. ↑ http://www.diamonds.net/News/NewsItem.aspx?ArticleID=17970
  8. ↑ http://www.en.isde.co.il/article.aspx?id=26994
  9. ↑ http://september.vicenzaoro.com/en/main/news/the-elite-of-jewellery-is-awarded.
  10. ↑ https://www.diamondintelligence.com/magazine/magazine.aspx?id=11882
  11. ↑ http://www.diamondworld.net/contentview.aspx?item=7872
  12. ↑ https://www.worlddiamondcouncil.org/index.php/news/263-world-diamond-council-president-honored-for-years-of-service-at-dubai-diamond-conference

External links

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