At their latest Board assembly on the Institute’s California headquarters, the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) Board of Governors welcomed two new Governors, new Chair and Vice Chair of the Board, and mentioned goodbye to 4 departing members.

The newly-appointed Governors, Lake Dai, a know-how skilled and adjunct professor of utilized synthetic intelligence at Carnegie Mellon College, and Russell Mehta, managing director of Rosy Blue (India) Pvt. Ltd., convey useful know-how and business experience to the Board. Lisa Locklear, senior vp and chief monetary officer at Avanir Prescribed drugs and a Governor since 2012, started her service as Board Chair on the conclusion of the November assembly. Stephen Kahler, senior advisor of strategic planning and enterprise growth for Everidge and a Governor since 2016, is the brand new Vice-Chair of the Board.

Dai is a seasoned know-how enterprise investor and senior govt with 20 years of working expertise main product, engineering and enterprise models at Alibaba, Yahoo!, and several other tech startups. Mehta, with 38 years of expertise within the diamond business, helped to rework Rosy Blue from a household diamond enterprise to an organization now represented in additional than 14 international locations.

The GIA Board of Governors gives strategic route to the Institute and acts as a steward of the general public curiosity. The 16 Governors embody gem and jewellery business leaders, distinguished lecturers in related scientific fields and specialists in know-how, enterprise, finance, client manufacturers, retail and threat administration.

The 4 Governors retiring from the Board are earlier Chair Dione Kenyon, previous president and CEO of the Jewelers Board of Commerce; earlier Vice-Chair Thomas Insley, chief monetary officer of Dermata Therapeutics; Barbara Sawrey, dean emerita and distinguished professor emerita on the College of California San Diego; and Elliot Tannenbaum, senior principal of Leo Schachter Diamond Group.

“Lake and Russell convey a wealth of experience and expertise that can complement and diversify the Board’s strengths,” mentioned Board Chair Locklear. “The 4 departing Governors have been distinctive Board members and made important contributions to governing the Institute throughout their greater than 40 years of mixed service to GIA.”

“With the GIA Government Group, I stay up for the strategic steerage and distinctive perspective of the Board as we work to increase GIA’s client safety mission by way of our targeted strategic initiatives,” mentioned Susan Jacques, GIA president and CEO. Jacques and Tom Moses, GIA govt vp and chief laboratory and analysis officer, are each members of the Board of Governors.