Bio
I am a consultant to natural resource companies in Madagascar as well as to international development agencies with a specialization in gemstones and gold. I am experienced in gemstone education and business development, ASM, supply chains, and beneficiation. I've been a gemstone dealer and sometime miner for over 30 years working primarily in Africa and Madagascar.
In 2004 I was recruited by the World Bank to work on the PRGM project in Madagascar where I led a team to create the first Gemmological Institute in Africa. We built an accredited gemological school, a gem-cutting or lapidary school, and a gemstone laboratory. We further developed a fashion jewelry design and fabrication instruction program. The Institute de Gemmologie de Madagascar remained open and active even after the World Bank funding ended in 2009. The IGM was closed in 2022.
I have consulted on gemstones for the SEED project in Zambia. I led a consulting team to develop a business plan for a gold refinery in Madagascar in 2018-2019. Recently, (2021-2022) I consulted for the MinDiver (Minerals Diversification) project in Nigeria as their gemstone expert with a brief to develop a gemstone and jewelry policy.
