President and CEO - GIA
Susan M. Jacques was appointed GIA’s president and CEO in January 2014. Before joining GIA, she served as president and CEO of Borsheim’s Fine Jewelry and Gifts in Omaha, Nebraska for 20 years and reported directly to Warren Buffett. She served as the honorary chair of the Friends of the Diamond Development Initiative, as a trustee of the Ethical Alliance, as a member of the board of advisors to the Black In Jewelry Coalition and on the boards of Jewelers of America, Jewelers for Children, Jewelers Vigilance Committee and the Omaha Chamber of Commerce. She is also a member of the 24 Karat Club of New York and Jewelers of America.
She received the 2024 GEM Award for Lifetime Achievement, the 2023 Robert M. Shipley Award from the American Gem Society, the 2023 Jewelers’ Security Alliance’s 17th annual Industry Service Award, the 2020 Stanley Schechter Award from the Jewelers Vigilance Committee, the Women’s Jewelry Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010 and was inducted into National Jeweler’s Retailer Hall of Fame in 1997. Ms. Jacques joined the GIA Board of Governors in May 1996 and served as chair from 2008 to 2013.
GIA – Generations of Wonder Since its founding in 1931, GIA has nurtured many generations. Students, some of whom start at eight or nine with our GemKids program, study with GIA on campus or online and move into rewarding careers across the industry and the world. Scientists take their academic training into the field, personally collecting samples for GIA’s unrivaled reference collection of colored stone rough with documented origin. Industry professionals return to GIA to refresh their knowledge and expertise, often bringing their own next generation with them. It is a virtuous cycle of knowledge and wonder, all in service of building trust within our industry and – so importantly – with the public.
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