Wrap Text
Change of Chairman
GEMFIELDS GROUP LIMITED
(Incorporated in Guernsey)
(Guernsey registration Number: 47656)
(South African external company registration number 2009/012636/10)
Share code on the BSX: GML.BH ISIN: GG00BG0KTL52
Share code on the JSE: GML LEI: 21380017GAVXTCYS5R31
("Gemfields" or the "Company")
Change of Chairman
Gemfields announces that Mr Brian Gilbertson will step down as the Chairman and as a director of the Company with
effect from 25 November 2019. Mr Martin Tolcher, who has served on the Board since 25 November 2008, will take
over as Chairman of the Company.
This development and its timing stem from Gemfields’ ongoing work toward obtaining a dual listing on the London
Stock Exchange’s AIM market. This ongoing process has highlighted the father-and-son relationship between Mr
Brian Gilbertson and Mr Sean Gilbertson - the present Chairman and CEO of Gemfields respectively - as a potential
impediment to robust corporate governance. By stepping down from the Board, the issue is obviated.
Mr Brian Gilbertson will resign from all other Gemfields subsidiary directorships but will retain non-executive
directorships of Fabergé Limited and Nairoto Resources Limitada, the latter housing Gemfields’ recently announced
gold exploration project in Mozambique.
In accordance with the King IV Code, and given Mr Tolcher’s tenure on the Board for more than nine years, the Board
has reviewed his independence and is satisfied that his classification as an independent director remains valid.
Outgoing Chairman Brian Gilbertson, said:
“Serving on the Board for more than 12 years has been a privilege and a pleasure as successive management
teams have grown the Company from a single defunct mining pit into the world’s leading supplier of coloured
gemstones. Gemfields today is in a sound financial position with a clear strategy to unlock value for
shareholders as a ‘pure-play’ African coloured gemstone producer.
I thank my fellow directors, past and present, and the teams of our portfolio companies, for their hard work
and significant contributions during my tenure as chairman.
I leave the Board in Martin’s experienced hands, knowing that he is intimately acquainted with the Company
through his role hitherto as Chairman of the Audit Committee, as a member of the Nomination and
Remuneration Committees, and as an active participant in Board discussions generally. I wish Martin, the
Company and the Gemfields team every future success as they continue our pursuit of becoming the De Beers
of coloured gemstones”.
Chairman-elect, Mr Tolcher, said:
“It is a privilege to succeed Brian - one of the most highly regarded veterans of the mining industry - as
chairman of Gemfields. I am determined to assist the creation of long-term value for our shareholders and
will make every effort, in collaboration with the Board and management, to achieve this.”
Martin Tolcher – Biography
Martin Tolcher, 56, has been a director of Gemfields since November 2008 and has been a member of the Company’s
Audit, Remuneration and Nomination Committees.
Mr Tolcher has been involved in the fund administration industry in Guernsey for over 30 years. Mr Tolcher has
worked at senior levels for three Guernsey subsidiaries of Canadian and Bermudan international banks, gaining
considerable experience in a wide variety of offshore fund and private equity investment structures.
Mr Tolcher joined Legis Fund Services Limited in 2005 and was appointed managing director at the beginning of 2007,
a position he held until the end of 2010. Mr Tolcher remained a director of that company until September 2011.
Mr Tolcher holds directorships with a number of other fund structures domiciled in Guernsey, several of which have
been or still are listed on the London Stock Exchange and the International Stock Exchange. Mr Tolcher is a Chartered
Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment. Mr Tolcher is a British citizen and is a resident of
Guernsey.
Additional information on Gemfields
Gemfields is a world leading supplier of responsibly sourced coloured gemstones. Gemfields is the operator and 75%
owner of both the Kagem emerald mine in Zambia (believed to be the world’s single largest producing emerald mine)
and the Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique (one of the most significant recently discovered ruby deposits in the
world). In addition, Gemfields also holds controlling interests in various other gemstone mining and prospecting
licenses in Zambia, Mozambique, Ethiopia and Madagascar.
Gemfields’ outright ownership of Fabergé - an iconic and prestigious brand of exceptional heritage - enables
Gemfields to optimise positioning, perception and consumer awareness of coloured gemstones, advancing the wider
group’s “mine and market” vision.
Gemfields has developed a proprietary grading system and a pioneering auction and trading platform to provide a
consistent supply of coloured gemstones to downstream markets, a key component of Gemfields’ business model
and has played an important role in the growth of the global coloured gemstone sector.
Further information on Gemfields Group Limited can be found at www.gemfieldsgroup.com
To join our press release mailing list, click here: gemfields@gemfields.com
For any press enquiries please contact us on investor.relations@gemfields.com
London
18 November 2019
Sponsor
Investec Bank Limited
Date: 18/11/2019 09:00:00
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