Senior Management
Prior to entering the diamond industry in 1980 with Ochta Diamonds, Mr. Janzen obtained a wide range of technical and managerial experience in the petrochemical, tobacco and gold mining industries. From 1980 to 1987, Mr. Janzen held a number of senior roles within Ochta Diamonds, including the management of Ochta's South African diamond cutting operations and the establishment of operations in Taiwan. In 1982, Mr. Janzen became managing director of the Ochta Group, overseeing the South African operations, Taiwanese manufacturing operations and the European and American marketing operations. Following a move to the Flawless Diamond Cutting Works in 1987, Mr. Janzen oversaw the merger of Elite Diamonds into the Namakwa Group and later served on the Namakwa Diamonds board of directors for a brief period in 2007/2008. Mr. Janzen holds a B.Comm from the University of South Africa and BSC B.Eng (Mechanical/Industrial) from the University of Stellenbosch. He is also a registered professional engineer and a founding member of the Diamond Merchants' Association of Southern Africa and the United Diamond Manufacturers' Association.
Dr. John Ward (FGSSA, Pr.Sci.Nat., PhD joined the Company following the acquisition of Kasai Resource Mining. He is a field-oriented geologist with over 33 years experience (ex-De Beers & Gem Diamonds), most of which has been gained in Africa, supplemented by work in Australia, Indonesia (Kalimantan), Canada, India and Israel. His main sphere of expertise lies with alluvial diamond deposits in southern, central and western Africa.
Mr. Whitelock has over 40 years' experience in diamond projects covering all aspects of locating, bulk sampling and mining of both alluvial and kimberlite deposits. He was employed by the original discoverer of Kao and the three other kimberlite pipes in the same area: Letseng, Liqhobong and Mothae. He also worked with De Beers for 21 years and joined Namakwa Diamonds after 14 years as CEO of Letseng Diamonds during which time he led the construction, commissioning and operation of the Letseng Mine. In July 2010, Mr. Whitelock was appointed Officer of the Most Loyal Order of Ramats’eatsana (OMLOR) by His Majesty King Letsie III of the Kingdom of Lesotho, in recognition of his outstanding contribution in the diamond mining industry in Lesotho.
Mr. Barrow, a Cambridge graduate, joined Namakwa in August 2009 from global law firm Allen & Overy LLP. His experience covers a wide range of corporate finance and capital markets transactions and he lead Namakwa through its initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange in 2007. As internal counsel, Mr. Barrow takes responsibility for the Company's legal function. In addition, he also provides strategic and transactional advice to the Executive Management Team.