The Next Generation
Vishal Mehta is poised to bring fresh perspective to a billion-dollar company
By Tara J. McKenna

Vishal Mehta has never questioned whether he would have a career in the diamond industry. It was only a matter of time before he would join the family business his father, Pankaj Mehta, created more than 40 years ago. And while he’s just getting started in his career, the 24-year-old businessman already has some concrete ideas for the company’s future.

Mehta’s plan is two-fold. As executive director for Dimexon, a Mumbai-based diamond manufacturer, he’s working toward creating a strong infrastructure of managers who will handle day-to-day duties so executives can serve as company visionaries and strategists. This restructuring would then be backed by an effective marketing campaign that will lead Dimexon and its sister company, Eurostar, into the 21st century, Mehta says.

“I see a lot of other family-run businesses where everyone is involved with buying rough or selling polished diamonds,” he says. “That takes up all their energy. I strongly believe we should not be managers. We must be experts at corporate governance.”

The catalyst for his grand plan is the recent changes taking place in the diamond industry. With the level of competition on the rise and De Beers’ Supplier of Choice initiative now a reality, marketing is not only an area to help companies stand out above the others, but a must to survive and grow. He decided this area had the most potential when he joined Dimexon in 2001.
“The future of this business is changing.

It’s great to know the change started as (my generation) came into the business,” says Mehta, who holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from King’s College in London.

“Marketing is one area that is a huge opportunity for the industry today. A lot of people think that putting up a billboard or advertising in a magazine is branding, but that’s not what true branding is about,” he says. “There are different ways you can market yourself and, finally, create value.

“We, as a company, have consciously maintained a low profile in the industry,” Mehta says “It’s time to raise that profile.”

Father Knows Best
Pankaj Mehta was working to develop his company into a global diamond business that would include retail, wholesale and manufacturing components long before De Beers introduced its Supplier of Choice initiative.

He started out small, purchasing diamond parcels from friends and polishing them himself to supply his father’s store in Coimbatore, India.

“That simple act created one of the first vertically integrated companies in the diamond industry,” Vishal Mehta says.

The business was so successful, the elder Mehta created Dimexon, a diamond manufacturing plant, in 1966. It later received a manufacturers’ sight from the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) in 1976.

Pankaj Mehta also saw a growing opportunity in Antwerp about the same time, so he  established Eurostar Diamond Traders in 1978. It, too, became a DTC sightholder in 1984.

Today, the family of companies cut and polish diamonds of all sizes for the major diamond markets including Japan, Hong Kong, China, Dubai, Antwerp, India and the United States. Vishal Mehta believes the success of the company is due to his father’s focus in business, his visionary ideas and drive to succeed.

“My father is the person I respect the most,” Vishal Mehta said. “I remember him making visionary statements in the late 1980s that just seemed so impossible at the time. They are all realities now. Through sheer determination and pure focus he made this company what it is today.”

Like Father, Like Son
Vishal Mehta’s appreciation for his father’s accomplishments grew even more once he joined the company. He says he became a sponge during his two years of training. He spent 10 months learning about raw material and production in India and China before traveling to the United States to attend GIA’s seven-week Graduate Diamond program in New York City.

He returned to India to grade diamonds for Dimexon for the next six months. His final
training took place in Mumbai, where he learned what it takes to sell diamonds first hand.

Mehta’s typical day at the office starts at around 9 a.m., when he catches up on world and diamond industry news of the day and addresses company issues that need his immediate attention, including serving as a liason between the sales division and the rough procurement and production department, which is under the direction of his brother, Rajiv.

 He normally spends his lunch time with the nine members of Dimexon’s senior management team to toss around procedural ideas for the company before attending strategic planning meetings the rest of the day.

Mehta was taught many aspects of the business during his two years of training, but one of the most important lessons he learned was realizing that each day provides an opportunity to learn something new.

“Even though my training period has been completed, learning is an ongoing process,” Mehta says. “It’s important that you take time to educate yourself on a consistent basis, because ultimately, only the knowledge you possess will remain your true intellectual property.”

Mehta applied for Harvard’s High Potential Leadership Program last year, but was not accepted because he was too young, he said. He will reapply this year.

His plan for creating a new structure for corporate governance was reinforced by an article he read in The McKinsey Quarterly, just one of several business publications he reads. It explained why it is important for company leaders to manage relationships, between themselves and between employees, by being able to adapt to different people and situations.

He feels it’s important to interact with people accordingly. Whether he’s discussing the company’s future with senior management or talking with a factory worker, each encounter sets the stage for corporate governance.

“Vishal has the ability, in my opinion, to readily adapt to any situation; to be able to evaluate a situation and make an immediate decision based upon his evaluation of it,” says Anthony Petrillo, Mehta’s former Diamonds and Diamond Grading instructor at GIA. “He was a very good student and I think he can make a really nice name for himself.”

Under his father’s guidance and with his brother’s help, Mehta says he’s poised to take the family business in a new direction when its infrastructure is in place. Coupled with the marketing campaign, he says the Dimexon/ Eurostar family of companies can reach new levels of success.

“The marketing department will actually add another facet to our company,” Mehta says. “Once we unleash the benefits of this program, it will be greatly valued by all our stakeholders. And ultimately, raise the bar for the industry once again.”