De Beers CEO Gareth Penny advised the De Beers board that
“he believes it is an appropriate time for him to step down,” according to a De
Beers news release.

Penny led De Beers for five years and worked for the
company 22 years. The statement said Penny would be stepping down “in the
coming months” and announced that a process was under way “to identify a
successor.”

In the interim, chief financial officer Stuart Brown and chief
commercial officer Bruce Cleaver were to serve as acting joint CEOs.

JCK