Sean Gilbertson graduated as a mining engineer from Wits University in South Africa having spent time in the country’s deep level gold and platinum mines. Mr Gilbertson worked as project financier for Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt and London specialising in independent power projects and public/private partnerships.

In 1998, Mr Gilbertson co-founded globalCOAL, a company that played a central role in the commoditisation of the thermal coal industry, and was appointed chief executive officer in 2001when the business was acquired by industry players including Anglo American plc, BHP Billiton plc, Glencore International AG and Rio Tinto plc. He was also co-founder of the pioneering Spectron eMetals trading platform for category I and II members of the London Metals Exchange.

Mr Gilbertson was a co-founder of the Pallinghurst Group and was primarily responsible for Pallinghurst’s coloured gemstone strategy from 2006 to 2017. After the unbundling of the Pallinghurst Group in 2018, Mr Gilbertson was appointed CEO of Gemfields Group Limited on 31 March 2018 and remains CEO of Gemfields Limited, Fabergé Limited and Kagem Mining Limited, on whose boards he has served for more than a decade.

Gemfields Limited is a world-leading miner and marketer of responsibly sourced coloured gemstones, specifically emeralds from Zambia and rubies from Mozambique. The company aims to adhere to three core values: transparency, legitimacy and integrity.