Senior gem and jewelry executives address industry challenges

To address the unique challenges facingthe gem and jewelry industry, GIA, in conjunction with the Harvard Business School (HBS), organized a global leadership program for 44 senior executives representing gem and jewelry firms from 15 countries April 28 – May 1 at the Harvard campus in Cambridge, Mass. The custom curriculum, based on the renowned HBS case study method, examined topics ranging from strategy to customer centricity to leading high performance teams.

“Developing innovative programs like this to meet the needs of our global industry directly supports our public benefit mission of protecting the gem- and jewelry-buying public,” said Susan Jacques, president and CEO of GIA. “We are very pleased that so many senior executives found the curriculum compelling and the networking opportunities invaluable.”

GIA initiated the program with HBS to bring together leaders from around the world representing different sectors of the gem and jewelry industry to help further develop senior management expertise. During the four-day program, the participants examined issues faced by global businesses and how to apply the experiences of other sectors and industries to their own, as well as discussing challenges facing the industry.

Given the success of the inaugural program, GIA will hold another global leadership program at HBS in June 2015.