RJC begins search for new chair

The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) has begun the search to find its new chairperson.

The candidate will follow David Bouffard, who will step down on the 30 of April 2024 after six years in the role.

This is a special election as it will be held on a separate track from the main board elections, with the nomination process beginning 4 January 2024.

A new chair will be elected in March 2024, allowing a month for continuity with the handover from Bouffard to his successor.

Bouffard said: “It has been an honour to serve as the chair of the RJC for almost six years – a truly rewarding experience given that I have been involved since the beginning of the RJC, with Signet as a Founding Member. The entire team and the board of directors have taken the RJC from a 14-founding member organisation when launched in 2005 to one that is growing strong with over 1700 members to date.

“As we search for a new chair, I am confident that the RJC has the best leadership for this new era in Melanie Grant executive director – who brings over 20 years’ experience and is internationally regarded as one of the leading authorities in jewellery.”

He added: “I also want to thank our board of directors – it was their commitment to our vision, and through their leadership, we have the most diverse team in our history, representing Europe, Asia and America, speaking 16 different languages.

“Our current international mix of diverse team members and leadership puts us on a certain trajectory that I believe is important towards ensuring we have a strong slate of diverse candidates nominated from around the world – in gender, race, culture, and other diversity factors. Let’s think about it – if a woman is voted into the chair, it will be the first female chairperson since the conception of the RJC in 2005.”