Barend Petersen new CEO of De Beers

[miningmx.com] — Diamond giant De Beers on Thursday announced the appointment of Barend Petersen as CEO of De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBCM) with effect from April 2010.

Petersen was first appointed to the DBCM board in August 2002.

He succeeds David Noko who stepped down at the end of March.

In addition to his appointment as CEO of DBCM, Barend also heads up the South
African mining interests of the De Beers Family of Companies.

De Beers said Petersen has begun meeting the mine and corporate leadership of the company and is engaging with mine management and employee representatives about their views on the business.

“De Beers Consolidated Mines is in a position where today it can meet the new
challenges it faces with confidence, having successfully weathered the challenges
posed by the global recession,” Petersen said.

“I intend to do what I can to strengthen the position of the company in South
Africa and to take advantage of the recovery as it continues to unfold,” he said.

De Beers Group CEO Gareth Penny said Petersen joined the company at an
important time as the demand for diamonds appears to be gradually recovering.

Penny said Petersen leads a company in South Africa already far more efficient
than it was a few years ago; having learnt from the recent experience of the global
economic downturn, and having the potential to contribute more to the business by
improving profitable production while containing costs – lessons well learnt in recent
years.

“We are embarking on the next stage of the strategic journey of this iconic
company,” Petersen said.

“We recognise that the strong local currency adds rigour to the challenges facing management. The reality of the strong Rand is one we must manage in order to succeed in achieving our business sustainability strategy which we are currently
engaged in developing,” he said.

Petersen, a chartered accountant, is a non-executive director of Anglo American South Africa and he also owns a stake in Ponahalo Capital, the black empowerment company.

Ponahalo Capital has a 50% stake in Ponahalo, which owns 26% equity interest in De Beers Consolidated Mines.

He is a director of De Beers societe anonyme, the holding company of the De Beers Group.