Fura Gems Hires for Marketing and Sales, Colombian Ops

Toronto--Fura Gems continues to build its executive team with the appointment of two new members.

Rupak Sen has been hired as vice president, marketing and sales, and Armando Diaz has been appointed as project manager, Colombia.

Sen will be based in Fura’s administrative headquarters in Dubai and will report directly to President and CEO Dev Shetty.

In his role, Sen will be responsible for global marketing, communications and sales of rough gemstones.

Prior to joining Fura, he served as acting global director of marketing and polished sales, and marketing and sales director for Asia for Gemfields. During his 9-year stint with Gemfields, Sen was instrumental in implementing the “mines and market” strategy in Asia.

He also was responsible for overall advertising, public relations, sponsorships, research, co-branding, co-marketing, education and training in his territory.

Prior to Gemfields, Sen oversaw the launch and growth of various brands in Asia, including companies like De Beers, Swatch Group and D. Navinchandra & Co.

Diaz, meanwhile, will be responsible for development of the Coscuez emerald mine, a recent acquisition by Fura.

Diaz will report directly to Vice President, Operations, Ashim Roy, and will be responsible for strategic planning, overall development of the mine, implementation of the sustainability framework and communication with the local community.

Diaz has more than 30 years of experience in both underground and open cast mining operations.

Prior to joining Fura, he worked with Gemfields in Colombia as a project manager and was responsible for the evaluation and acquisition of new emerald mines in both the operating and exploration stages.

He also has previously held a number of senior positions in the mining industry and has developed underground and open cast mines in South America, Asia and Africa.

Diaz has worked as an operations manager for the underground mines in India for Hindustan Zinc Limited, the Kansanshi open-pit mine for First Quantum Minerals, the underground operation for Mopani and various underground projects in South America consisting of copper, lead, zinc and gold commodities.

Fura Gems Inc.’s corporate headquarters are in Toronto, and its administrative headquarters are in the Almas Tower in Dubai.

Fura also has four ruby licenses in Mozambique, three of which are north of Gemfields’ ruby project and one toward the south, which the company believes is a new belt for the stones.

The company has commenced drilling programs for the three northern licenses, and the first phase should be completed on or before Dec. 31.