At a staff reception following the November board of governors meeting, GIA honored retiring president and CEO Susan Jacques with the Institute’s highest honor—the Richard T. Liddicoat Award for Distinguished Achievement (see above). Current board chair Lisa Locklear and incoming GIA president and CEO Pritesh Patel presented the award to Jacques, praising her vision, integrity, compassion, and the lasting impact of her leadership on GIA.
Born in Zimbabwe to an Australian mother and a British father, Jacques’ entrée into the industry came with a job as junior typist for the country’s largest jewelry company. Noticing her boss taking GIA correspondence courses, she persuaded her parents to enroll her in GIA’s in-residence graduate gemologist (GG) program at the Santa Monica, California, campus in 1980. For Jacques, gaining her GG had life-changing results, leading to a job at Borsheims in Omaha, Nebraska—one of the largest U.S. independent jewelers. Investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett’s purchase of Borsheims in 1989 elevated the business and provided an opportunity for Jacques, culminating with Buffett offering her the position of CEO, which she held for 20 years. Jacques joined GIA’s board in 1996 and became board chair in 2008 before her appointment as GIA’s president in 2014. In addition to her GG diploma from GIA, she is a fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A).
Established in 1994, there have only been 14 recipients of the Richard T. Liddicoat Award for Distinguished Achievement, including Tom Moses, executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer; Alice Keller, editor-in-chief emerita of Gems & Gemology; Dona Mary Dirlam, librarian emerita; Kathryn Kimmel, GIA’s first chief marketing officer (retired); John Koivula, analytical microscopist; and Dr. James Shigley, GIA’s distinguished research fellow.
At a staff reception following the November board of governors meeting, GIA honored retiring president and CEO Susan Jacques with the Institute’s highest honor—the Richard T. Liddicoat Award for Distinguished Achievement (see above). Current board chair Lisa Locklear and incoming GIA president and CEO Pritesh Patel presented the award to Jacques, praising her vision, integrity, compassion, and the lasting impact of her leadership on GIA.
Born in Zimbabwe to an Australian mother and a British father, Jacques’ entrée into the industry came with a job as junior typist for the country’s largest jewelry company. Noticing her boss taking GIA correspondence courses, she persuaded her parents to enroll her in GIA’s in-residence graduate gemologist (GG) program at the Santa Monica, California, campus in 1980. For Jacques, gaining her GG had life-changing results, leading to a job at Borsheims in Omaha, Nebraska—one of the largest U.S. independent jewelers. Investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett’s purchase of Borsheims in 1989 elevated the business and provided an opportunity for Jacques, culminating with Buffett offering her the position of CEO, which she held for 20 years. Jacques joined GIA’s board in 1996 and became board chair in 2008 before her appointment as GIA’s president in 2014. In addition to her GG diploma from GIA, she is a fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A).
Established in 1994, there have only been 14 recipients of the Richard T. Liddicoat Award for Distinguished Achievement, including Tom Moses, executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer; Alice Keller, editor-in-chief emerita of Gems & Gemology; Dona Mary Dirlam, librarian emerita; Kathryn Kimmel, GIA’s first chief marketing officer (retired); John Koivula, analytical microscopist; and Dr. James Shigley, GIA’s distinguished research fellow.
