Mark B. Mann Appointed GIA Director, Global Jewelry Manufacturing Arts

CARLSBAD, Calif. – March 8, 2011 – GIA (Gemological Institute of America) has named Mark B. Mann director of Global Jewelry Manufacturing Arts (JMA). Mann’s appointment, effective Feb. 28, gives him responsibility to plan, develop, implement and evaluate the Institute’s global JMA education programs. He will collaborate with GIA’s domestic and international teaching faculty to improve and/or customize programs to suit local markets and serve new target audiences.

Mann has more than 35 years of experience working in jewelry retail, production manufacturing and jewelry manufacturing education environments. Prior to joining GIA, he was director of product engineering for Hearts On Fire, where he was responsible for ensuring jewelry quality and performance and developing a certified service center program. He was also formerly the director of professional certification and trade programs at Jewelers of America, where he facilitated the development of certification programs for jewelry manufacturing, sales and management at the retail level. During his tenure, he authored numerous trade and technical articles and was a frequent industry speaker.

Mann previously worked as a GIA supervisor and instructor of jewelry manufacturing programs. He collaborated with an integrated GIA team to create, develop and facilitate a state-of-the-art revision to the Graduate Jeweler manufacturing program, incorporating technique upgrades and modern instructional delivery practices. He retrained existing staff and hired new personnel to facilitate the revisions and changes. Later, he became general manager of education for GIA, with responsibility for on-campus jewelry manufacturing and gemology education programs.

“We warmly welcome Mark back ‘home’ to the Institute,” said Bev Hori, GIA vice president of Education and chief learning officer. “His hands-on approach to design, engineering and manufacturing, combined with his teaching, writing and speaking abilities, make him an invaluable asset to provide excellent service to our students and constituents.”

Mann earned his GIA Diamond Graduate diploma in the 1990s and is a recipient of the 2006 Technology Award from the Santa Fe Symposium®.