Post subject: Bill Boyjian Resigns as GIA President
Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 12:45 pm
Platinum Member
Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2006 1:20 am Posts: 2756 Location: Southern California, U.S.A.
JCK is reporting the resignation of Bill Boyjian as President of the Gemological Institute of America, apparently as the latest and highest-profile casualty in the organization's diamond-grading scandal.
The resignation came after GIAs Board of Governors meeting in Carlsbad, CA on Tuesday, May 23. The report was careful to point out that while the grading issue occurred during Boyjian's tenure, he is not personally implicated in violations of GIA policy.
Interim duties as President will be handled by Donna Baker, senior vice president and counsel for GIA. Boyjian will stay on as a consultant until July 30 to assist in the transition during the search for a new president. That date will mark his exact 20th anniversary as president.
There are a lot of sad people over here. Bill Boyajian will be missed... but I can't imagine a more competent person than Donna Baker to take over the role of president.
--Sandalwood
_________________ "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
<i>Inigo Montoya</i>
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2005 7:00 pm Posts: 181 Location: St Louis - Mo
I am a little worried about what may happen now. Especially when it appears that many of the dedicated GIA people, like Boyajian are being replaced or over shadowed by in some way with people who were previously highly dedicated to a large jewelry industry corporation. Like Cartier. Could this be a change in the ethics and direction of GIA ?
Could it be comparable of when past high level loyalist to large oil ,energy, banking & pharmaceutical corporations are installed in high positions within the US government? They are said to be the best due to their insight into the business, which is most likely true. But they often seem to decide in the favor of the same corporations they once worked for over whats best overall as a whole. This would be my fear of what appears to be happening at GIA. Installing NON-Educational business/money motivated people into the top positions could lead to GIA to turn into a money driven and not educational driven machine. Think about it, after 20 years of pushing the bottom line first, you just cant switch that off and think what is morally , ethically and educational best for everyone. I this is one of those times I would love to be totally wrong.
I personally believe Boyajian was a very good president of GIA and had a very accute insight with a fair balance between what benefited corporations as well as the industry as a whole. From the wanna be 13 year old kid all the way to the CEO of Stuller, it always seemed to me that Boyajian was focused on education and promotion of an institution and an industry he apparently loved. Next to Liddicoat, I think Boyajian was and still is the best choice for everything Liddicoat wanted GIA to become.
I too long for the purity of the good old days. You remember before the big campus in Carlsbad and all that corporate money. I started my educational journey the year before the big change. I've seen he changes also. They mirror what is happening in the political arena and wallstreet. It is so typical to take one instance of impropriety and find a fallguy. Well face it .. our industry had been changed forever.
It is up to each individual professional jeweler\gemologist to maintain the vision of Liddicoat,Shipley,Boyajian.
There is so much misperception in those last two posts I hardly know where to begin!
(Yep, Sandalwood is still here)
First, Bill Boyajian was the public face of GIA, but he wasn't the "top of the tree," so to speak. GIA is controlled by its Board of Governors. Ralph Destino was Chairman of the Board of Governors while Bill Boyajian was president... so his introduction to the GIA spotlight didn't represent any sort of change in the control of the inner workings of GIA.
GIA's Board of Directors is made up of people from both inside and outside the industry to help ensure balance and fairness.
Here is the current Board of Governors of GIA:
Helene Fortunoff (the new Principal)... Lee Michale Berg, CEO of Lee Michaels Fine Jewelry, Nancy Brewer, President of Nancy B. & Company Gordon Brown, Jr. Ph.D., Chairman of the Synchrotron Radiation Lab at Stanford University William Cottingham, Ph.D., President GMI Engineering and Management Institute Ralph Destino Eli Haas, CEO of E N H International Susan Jacques, CEO of Borsheim's (Berkshire Hathaway) Michael Kazanjian, CEO of Kazanjian Bros., Inc. Sheldon Kwiat, Co-President of Kwiat, Rosen and Ferman Anna Martin, Senior VP of ABN AMRO Bank Dilip Mehta, CEO of Rosy Blue Roland Naftule, President Nafco Gems, Ltd. Glenn Nord (Past President and Governor for Life) George Rossman, Ph.D., Professor of Minerology at Cal Tech Timothy Stripe, Co-President, Grand Pacific Resorts, Inc. Mathew Stuller, CEO Stuller, Inc.
I really can't speak much to the scandal, or to the reason Bill Boyajian retired on his 20th anniversary as president. All I know is what you know - (and that is the truth!) My gut tells me that there was a lot more to this change out in senior management than meets the eye...
That said, the people who are in place now are stellar. The head of GIA's grading lab, Tom Yonelunas, was replaced by Tom Moses, a distinguished, world-renowned gemologist. Bill Boyajian was replaced by acting president, Donna Baker, who was first brought on board as our legal counsel and quickly rose up the ranks to head up GIA's HR department, and was soon after given control of GIA's day-to-day business operations (by Bill Boyajian).
From an inside perspective, the most obvious change in our leadership has to do with personality. Bill Boyajian and Tom Yonelunas were dynamic, public personalities. I was always amazed that Bill would remember my name even though we hardly interact. He was also very well spoken on camera. That was Tom Yonelunas strength, too. Tom could deliver a riveting speech.
These two dynamic speakers have been replaced by an organizer and a scientist. Donna Baker and Tom Moses are highly skilled, capable people. I believe that with these two people guiding the business, you will see GIA reach new heights in professionalism and accessibility.
<end evangelism>
_________________ "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
<i>Inigo Montoya</i>
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 4:18 pm Posts: 449 Location: San Francisco, CA. 94104
Sandalwood wrote:
Wow...
There is so much misperception in those last two posts I hardly know where to begin!
(Yep, Sandalwood is still here)
First, Bill Boyajian was the public face of GIA, but he wasn't the "top of the tree," so to speak. GIA is controlled by its Board of Governors. Ralph Destino was Chairman of the Board of Governors while Bill Boyajian was president... so his introduction to the GIA spotlight didn't represent any sort of change in the control of the inner workings of GIA.
GIA's Board of Directors is made up of people from both inside and outside the industry to help ensure balance and fairness.
Here is the current Board of Governors of GIA:
Helene Fortunoff (the new Principal)... Lee Michale Berg, CEO of Lee Michaels Fine Jewelry, Nancy Brewer, President of Nancy B. & Company Gordon Brown, Jr. Ph.D., Chairman of the Synchrotron Radiation Lab at Stanford University William Cottingham, Ph.D., President GMI Engineering and Management Institute Ralph Destino Eli Haas, CEO of E N H International Susan Jacques, CEO of Borsheim's (Berkshire Hathaway) Michael Kazanjian, CEO of Kazanjian Bros., Inc. Sheldon Kwiat, Co-President of Kwiat, Rosen and Ferman Anna Martin, Senior VP of ABN AMRO Bank Dilip Mehta, CEO of Rosy Blue Roland Naftule, President Nafco Gems, Ltd. Glenn Nord (Past President and Governor for Life) George Rossman, Ph.D., Professor of Minerology at Cal Tech Timothy Stripe, Co-President, Grand Pacific Resorts, Inc. Mathew Stuller, CEO Stuller, Inc.
I really can't speak much to the scandal, or to the reason Bill Boyajian retired on his 20th anniversary as president. All I know is what you know - (and that is the truth!) My gut tells me that there was a lot more to this change out in senior management than meets the eye...
That said, the people who are in place now are stellar. The head of GIA's grading lab, Tom Yonelunas, was replaced by Tom Moses, a distinguished, world-renowned gemologist. Bill Boyajian was replaced by acting president, Donna Baker, who was first brought on board as our legal counsel and quickly rose up the ranks to head up GIA's HR department, and was soon after given control of GIA's day-to-day business operations (by Bill Boyajian).
From an inside perspective, the most obvious change in our leadership has to do with personality. Bill Boyajian and Tom Yonelunas were dynamic, public personalities. I was always amazed that Bill would remember my name even though we hardly interact. He was also very well spoken on camera. That was Tom Yonelunas strength, too. Tom could deliver a riveting speech.
These two dynamic speakers have been replaced by an organizer and a scientist. Donna Baker and Tom Moses are highly skilled, capable people. I believe that with these two people guiding the business, you will see GIA reach new heights in professionalism and accessibility.
<end evangelism>
I put the question "When did GIA change from a not for profit educational and research institution to a thriving FOR PROFIT company?" on the ASA discussion site. The best reply I got was from Larry Phillips who explained that when Bill Boyajian addressed the AGS as he took over the GIA that he announced that he was going to make it a profitable institution.
I now ask: Is it true that money corrupts
_________________ Mervyn L. Cohn ASA Senior Appraiser American Society of Appraisers http://www.e-praise.com home to eCS (e-praise CUT SCORE)
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