PDE appoints two Latin American leaders as Directors

The Panama Diamond Exchange (PDE) appointed two leaders of the Latin American gemstone and jewelry industry as Directors. The two new Directors include Hecliton Santini Henriques, President of Instituto Brasileiro de Gemas e Metais Preciosos (IBGM), Brazil’s leading gem and jewelry trade association; and Dr. Luciano Pataro, the founder and director of Gold America S.A. in Panama, to the position of Directors.

“As a diamond exchange that has been established with the express purpose of serving the entire area of Latin America, it is imperative that the region’s industry be well represented among our leadership. “Mr. Henriques and Dr. Pataro are two such individuals, respectively representing one of the largest industries and markets in the Latin America, and the gold and jewelry trading sector in Panama,” said Eli Izhakoff, Founding Chairman of the Panama Diamond Exchange.

Both new directors join other principal industry leaders who have been named PDE directors. The PDE plans to soon appoint two additional directors, and in effect complete the composition of the board.

Hecliton Santini Henriques is the President of Instituto Brasileiro de Gemas e Metais Preciosos (IBGM), the Brazilian Gems and Jewelry Trade Association, which represents the entire gems and jewelry sector in Brazil from mine to consumers. He has also served at the Brazilian Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Sebrae, is President of Instituto Brasil de Economia Criativa (Creative Brazil Institute), an NGO, He was honoured with the ICA Lifetime Achievement Awards in 2011.

Dr. Luciano Pataro is a Panamanian entrepreneur, specializing in the wholesale distribution of gold and jewelry, and a second generation of a family that has worked in this sector since 1948. He is founder and director of Gold America S.A., member of the Colón Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Users Association of the Colón Free Zone (Asociación de Usuarios de la Zona Libre de Colón). Dr. Pataro is President of MP Diamonds & Jewelry, S.A.