Neil Ventura to Exit De Beers

De Beers veteran Neil Ventura will leave the company amid a raft of leadership changes at the miner.

Ventura, who is executive vice president for strategy and innovation, “has decided to move on and pursue other interests,” De Beers announced Monday.

Ryan Perry, currently head of strategy, will succeed him as acting executive vice president for strategy and innovation and will also join the executive committee.

In more than 30 years at De Beers, Ventura has made a significant contribution to the company, including transforming its auctions business and shaping group strategy, noted De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver. Ventura was also involved in key innovations such as the Lightbox lab-grown brand and the Tracr blockchain platform, Cleaver added.

The miner has also promoted Rasila (Ras) Vaghjiani to executive vice president of transformation for the group. She was previously senior vice president of transformation and human resources (HR) for the brands and consumer markets division and for corporate functions.

Meanwhile, Malebogo Mpugwa will step up from her previous role as head of talent, organizational effectiveness and learning to become group executive head of HR. She will succeed Joy Roman, who is taking on a new role as head of HR for the technical and sustainability function of Anglo American, De Beers’ parent company.

Vaghjiani and Mpugwa will join the De Beers executive committee, as will Riaan Burger, CEO of Namdeb, the miner’s joint venture with the Namibian government.

Last week, De Beers revealed that Cleaver would depart the company at the beginning of 2023, to be replaced by Al Cook.

Image: Neil Ventura. (De Beers)