DDC Head Vows to Fight for 'Little Guy'

Rob Bates -- JCK-Jewelers Circular Keystone, 10/1/2000

The new head of the Diamond Dealers Club of New York says his priority is to bring business back to the club.

"Hopefully in three or four months, you won't recognize the club," says Jacob Banda, a longtime dealer who recently was elected club president. "We are one of the largest clubs in the world, and everyone is passing us by. There is a lot of business in New York, but not enough in the DDC. I want every table to be occupied."

Banda says his plans to reinvigorate the club were still secret. But he says his background as a longtime club member gives him incentive to act. "I am a member here, and I have to make a living, too," he says. "I will work for everybody, but especially the little guy, because the big people don't need me."

Banda says that since his surprise election, he's been putting in 12-hour days as he learns his new role. He won the election in June by just four votes, wresting power from two-term president Eli Haas.