The World Diamond Council (WDC) has named Patricia Syvrud, founder and president of Joia Consulting, its first executive director.

Syvrud will be responsible for representing the WDC at the Kimberley Process, as well as providing overall leadership and strategic direction to the organization.

Syvrud previously worked on Friends of DDI, the fund-raising arm of the Diamond Development Initiative. Her other experience includes helping to catalog the National Gem Collection at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., as well as stints at Gemological Institute of America and Jewelers Mutual Insurance Co.

“The entire board sees this appointment as further professionalizing the WDC,” said WDC president Edward Asscher in a statement.

JCK