SkyDiamond, Which Makes Rough Stones From Carbon Capture, Names First CEO

Samantha Conti
·2 min read
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LONDON — SkyDiamond, a British company that uses carbon capture to create rough diamonds, has hired Madeleine Macey as its first chief executive officer.

The diamonds are made with carbon captured from the atmosphere, harvested rainwater, and wind power.

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The company describes itself as the first and only producer of “negative-emission” rough diamonds. SkyDiamond’s factory is located in the English Cotswolds, and is powered by solar and wind turbines.

SkyDiamond was founded by the British environmentalist Dale Vince, owner of the Gloucestershire, England-based renewable energy firm Ecotricity.

SkyDiamond rocks were on show at Selfridges’ four-week “Supermarket” future concept store in 2022, and once again last Christmas when the store created a sustainable Corner Shop.

Macey was most recently chief marketing officer of Liberty, and has spent more than 20 years working in communications and marketing roles at fashion and luxury goods companies.

She joined SkyDiamond in September and reports to Asif Rehmanwala, CEO of the Green Britain Group, which houses Vince’s businesses.

Macey said her aim is to take the diamonds further into the luxury sphere, following the collaborations with Stephen Webster, Bleue Burnham for Gucci Vault, and Selfridges.

Webster has described the diamonds as “white, lovely, beautiful stones.”

Macey said she believes SkyDiamond stones will offer people the opportunity to “live their lives more environmentally, without giving up what they love.”

Macey began her career at Roland Mouret and served as the global communications director for brands such as Manolo Blahnik, Temperley London and Jimmy Choo. At Liberty, she oversaw all communication activities and worked on the company’s domestic and international promotional strategy.

Last year she oversaw the launch of a biannual beauty newspaper called The Hall, which has elements of an old-style print publication, such as crosswords and horoscopes.

The supersize newspaper also has interactive elements, such as QR codes, and is meant to link all of Liberty’s content streams together. At the time, Macey said Liberty has prioritized print because “our audience loves knowledge, they don’t like being ‘sold to.’ They want to know what we’ve discovered, they want to learn.”

In 2020, when the store was marking 145 years in business, Macey helped to oversee Liberty’s rebranding and the relaunch of the e-commerce site, which appeals to local and international consumers alike.

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