Following the resignation of Gareth Penny from both his positions as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the De Beers diamond company and Debswana Board of Directors Chairman, Nicky Oppenheimer takes over as Debswana Chairman, Sunday Standard reported.

According to a statement by Ester Kanaimba, Group Manager for Public and Corporate Affairs, Oppenheimer, who is also De Beers chairman, will fill the position until the end of 2011.

According to the report, Oppenheimer served as Debswana Chairman in January 1998 to March 2007 and has been involved with the Debswana board since January 1980. Eric Molale is to continue as Deputy Chairman until 2011, it said.

Having served as CEO of De Beers for about five years, Penny left the post after overseeing the response to the global financial crisis and the company’s subsequent recovery. De Beers’s Chief Financial Officer Stuart Brown and Chief Commercial Officer Bruce Cleaver will act as joint CEOs in the interim, the report said.

“The Chairmanship of the Debswana Board rotates between a nominee of the Botswana Government and Delibes Holdings Limited every two calendar years,” wrote Kanaimba.

Delibes Holdings limited is the De Beers wing that holds the 50% in the Debswana partnership, which owns all the mines in Botswana's diamond industry. Botswana is one of the world's leading rough diamond suppliers.

A recipient of Botswana’s presidential order of Honour, Oppenheimer is an honorary Fellow of the London Business School. Oppenheimer is also a non-executive director of Anglo American and chairman of Namdeb, the 50/50 diamond mining joint venture between De Beers and the Government of Namibia.