Rio Tinto Diamonds announces new manager to lead its India office

Rio Tinto Diamonds NV, one of the world's leading diamond companies, has announced the new appointee to lead its Mumbai based India office.

Mr Vikram Merchant officially began with Rio Tinto Diamonds on July 14, and brings a wealth of experience to his role, with strong knowledge of the global diamond industry and proven technical and analytical skills gained over 25 years in Mumbai, London and Antwerp. Before joining Rio Tinto Diamonds, Vikram was Business Development Manager of the Hindustan Diamond Company, the largest supplier of rough diamonds to small and medium manufacturers-exporters of polished diamonds in India.

Commenting on this recent appointment, Jean-Marc Lieberherr, General Manager of Rio Tinto Diamonds said, " For a sales and marketing led business like ourselves, Vikram's appointment will be invaluable in continuing to build on the successful strategic partnership between Rio Tinto and the Indian diamond industry and drive competitive advantage for ourselves and our Select Diamantaires."

Commenting on his appointment, Vikram Merchant said, "I am delighted to represent Rio Tinto Diamonds in India, particularly at this time when many of our Select Diamantaires™ are actively developing their business models in this market. Over the last 25 years Rio Tinto Diamonds has established a significant presence in the Indian diamond industry and I am looking forward to being part of this stage of its development."

Rio Tinto Diamonds is the sales and marketing division representing the diamond mines of the Rio Tinto Group, one of the world's leading mining companies. Rio Tinto's diamond mining and marketing interests include the Argyle Diamond mine in Australia, the Diavik Diamond Mine in Canada and the Murowa Diamond Mine in Zimbabwe. All of Rio Tinto Diamonds rough production is sold through one of a distinguished group of customers, known as Select Diamantaires™. Further information on Rio Tinto Diamond's Select Diamantaires™ may be found on http://www.selectdiamantaire.com/.

Media Release - New manager to lead India office [PDF: 74 KB]