Shaun Wills (pictured), the De Beers Group chief financial officer for brands and consumer markets, has become the diamond giant’s second high-level executive to announce their departure in recent weeks.
In early June, De Beers said Sally Morrison, who’s been with the company since 2020 and served as its natural diamond market lead, would be leaving later this summer.
Wills already had his last day at De Beers, according to a LinkedIn post. He joined the company as interim CFO in August 2024 and had been CFO for brands and consumer markets since June 2025. Wills was CFO at clothing retailer Superdry before his time at De Beers.
De Beers tells JCK that Richard Mills has been appointed CFO for brands and diamond desirability.
“Having joined De Beers in 2024 to support the transformation of our downstream business, Shaun Wills is leaving the business to pursue other opportunities,” De Beers said in a statement. “We thank Shaun for his contribution to De Beers Group—including his support for building a portfolio of strong brands and the resumption of category marketing—and wish him well for the next chapter of his career.”
Wills wrote on LinkedIn that working at De Beers had been “fascinating” and taught him “the true value inherent in natural diamonds.” He also noted that it helped him learn more about luxury markets in the United States, Europe, India, and China.
“It has been a pleasure to be involved in the transformation of the consumer-facing businesses and to work with the excellent teams that are now in place and will undoubtedly take these businesses forward to growth and success,” Wills said.
De Beers CEO Al Cook replied to Wills’ post: “Thank you Shaun for helping to turn around our retail business.”
Several trade media have reported that Wills has accepted a job as the CFO for Poundland, a British discount chain that’s in the midst of a court-sanctioned restructuring. In reply to a LinkedIn comment asking where he was headed after De Beers, Wills wrote, “talk about ends of the spectrum: Poundland.”
De Beers was put up for sale in 2024 by its majority owner, Anglo American, and officials have said a deal could be announced soon. Anglo has written down De Beers’ value by about $6.9 billion since 2023. Longtime exec Feriel Zerouki left De Beers late last year.
(Photo courtesy of Shaun Wills)
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