New CEO of De Beers shares her business wisdom: listen more and judge less
Recruited during lockdown, Céline Assimon, 44, took on the role of CEO at De Beers Jewellers in September 2020. Assimon grew up as an only child in Corrèze, south-western France, went to business school in Nantes and interned at Cartier, before moving to New York, aged 24, for a job at luxury jeweller Piaget.
She later worked for Louis Vuitton in New York and then Paris, as the head of high-jewellery and high-watchmaking sales, before rejoining Piaget in Geneva as its international high-jewellery director. In 2018 she became CEO of Swiss house de Grisogono, before it filed for bankruptcy in January 2020 amid corruption claims against an investor, the Angolan businesswoman Isabel dos Santos. Assimon now lives in London with her 10-year-old daughter, Chloé.
She joined De Beers Jewellers the year before its 20th anniversary; although the De Beers Group, of which the house is a part, was founded in 1888. Having once controlled 80 per cent of the world's supply of rough diamonds, De Beers now produces over 30 million carats of rough diamonds per year from its mines in South Africa, Canada, Botswana and Namibia.
Owned by mining giant Anglo American and the government of Botswana, which has a 15 per cent share, in 2019 De Beers turned over $4.6 billion (£3.4 million). De Beers Jewellers employs 225 people and has 29 stores worldwide.
My biggest career inspiration is my grandmother.
My father ran a construction company and my mother was an accountant, but it was my grandmother who inspired me. She was a hairdresser who took over her husband's construction business as a young widow in the 1950s. She gave me the best career advice: don't wait for something to be handed to you - take it. That stuck with me: seize every opportunity and run with it. And I have.
My first job taught me how privileged I was.
As a teenager I worked as a camp counsellor teaching underprivileged children how to ride. They had never seen a chicken before, let alone a horse. It was transformative for them, and for me. I learnt to listen more and judge less - values I try to teach my daughter.
I knew I would spend my life in jewellery; there was no Plan B.
My mother loved big, colourful costume jewellery, while my grandmother was very classic. I was mesmerised by the aesthetics, how jewellery expresses your personality. My love of the craft came later. Diamonds and gemstones create desire, and when you mix that with the creativity and talent of crafts-people, the result is magic.
To me the biggest risk is complacency.
If you always choose the safe option, then you won't get much from life. Before I see a risk, I see the opportunity. Success comes from mistakes, and I have made a lot along the way. You fall and you get back up - that's life. The big lesson is to stay optimistic and positive.
Filing for bankruptcy with de Grisogono was a tough moment, and I still have my battle scars.
But I don't have any regrets - that's not productive. The final moment cannot define an entire experience, just like a break-up doesn't define a whole relationship. I'm here today because of all the bumps in the road.
As CEO, I was never going to emulate the way male leaders behave.
I'm not going to forget that I'm a mother, I have other priorities; and my team members, male or female, have other priorities too. Earlier in my career, male leaders tended to keep their personal lives separate, conforming to an image of the tough guy staying late to keep the business running.
But a lot of my colleagues say it's a breath of fresh air to have more women at executive level because the narrative has changed. It's OK to have a life outside of work, and you're more driven and creative as a result.
As a woman you still have to prove yourself way more than your male counterparts.
But organisations are making an effort to change. De Beers Group made a commitment to appoint women in leadership positions, so I've joined the ranks of a strong group of female leaders. I hope my daughter will experience a different world when she grows up.
It's important for leaders to show vulnerability.
Before I joined De Beers I read Brené Brown's book Dare to Lead, which puts into words what I've experienced: empathy, vulnerability and admitting you don't know all the answers can be a strength rather than a weakness. The fact that we are now physically disconnected from our teams forces us to listen more and recognise that we are all vulnerable.
Those 'aha' moments at the coffee machine aren't happening; we have to find ways to create those moments. I have weekly calls with my 12 direct reports to talk about life outside work, and I've touched base with every De Beers Jewellers employee via Microsoft Teams.
I like the Gustav Mahler quote, "Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire."
The jewellery industry is stuck between the past and future: how do you preserve the integrity of the craft and the founder's legacy while keeping innovation alive? The fire we need to preserve is craftsmanship, artistry and meaning. The ashes are things we've been doing for decades that are no longer relevant.
As a brand, you need to stand for something.
More than that, you need to be able to prove it. De Beers is part of our clients' journey through life and their milestone moments; we create beautiful jewellery. But sustainability is at the heart of the De Beers Group: for every hectare affected by mining activity, we set aside six for conservation, and there are programmes in place to support communities and wildlife.
For many luxury brands the pandemic is a make-or-break moment: if you only feed consumerism, it's unlikely you'll survive.
I'm determined to push the boundaries with bold design and a more feminine aesthetic.
Behind De Beers' legacy is an audacious spirit that had become a bit tame. We have incredible access to rough diamonds, and we pioneered the use of rough and polished diamonds in jewellery. That affords us an exciting level of creativity.
There's the fine jewellery that women are expected to wear and that men buy for them; then there's what women want to wear and buy for themselves. They want pieces that reflect their personality: big earrings, oversized rings. Historically, De Beers could be a bit shy when it came to design, so I'm hoping to change that with my talented all-female design studio.
Every year I buy myself a piece of jewellery as a reward for believing in myself, taking that leap, going after that opportunity.
That said, one of my most special pieces is a beautiful diamond my ex-husband gave me as my engagement ring. After we separated, he told me to keep the ring for Chloé. I had it redesigned into a huge cocktail ring. I'll pass it on to Chloé one day as a symbol of independence and power.
That's why jewellery is so special: it has an emotional connection; it tells the stories of our lives. As consumers shift towards buying fewer, better things, fine jewellery is becoming more relevant than ever.
Becoming a CEO was never my goal; it was never about the title on my business card.
It's a nice recognition, but I have always been driven by my desire to be part of a team that builds something I can be proud of. It starts with passion.
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