DTC Botswana Names Managing Director
March 28, 07 by IDEX Online Staff Reporter
The Government of the Republic of Botswana and De Beers, the Shareholders of Diamond Trading Company Botswana, today named Brian McDonald managing director of the new DTC Botswana.
DTC Botswana MD
Brian McDonald |
Since 2005, McDonald has served as executive director responsible for sorting and purchasing at DTC in London. He joined DTC in 1970 and has held various positions including senior quality controller, deputy general manager, and general manager of BDVC (Botswana Diamond Valuing Company).
“As a start up operation, Diamond Trading Company Botswana will face many challenges least of which will be the managing director’s ability to function in a new environment. In selecting Brian, we were careful to ensure that the candidate has the requisite skills and experience to perform under these challenging conditions,” said Botswana’s Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Mineral Energy and Water Resources, Dr. Tombale.
McDonald has been intimately involved in the project to build the venue for the Diamond Trading Company Botswana operations. He is a member of the Project Working Group tasked to ensure timely transformation of BDVC from a diamond sorting and valuing entity to a sorting, valuing and marketing company.
“One of our distinct contributions to the partnership is intimate knowledge of the industry and in this case the downstream. As a 50 percent shareholder in Diamond Trading Company Botswana, De Beers is excited about the experience and skill that Brian will bring to the role,” said Gareth Penny, managing director of the De Beers Group.
Once operational in 2008, DTC Botswana will be the world's largest and most modern diamond production facility, according to De Beers. The building, funded by De Beers at a cost of over $83 million, will be owned by the joint venture company. DTC Botswana will take over all activities carried out by BDVC – a Debswana subsidiary.
