Over the past four decades, Elliot Tannenbaum, senior principal at Leo Schachter Diamond Group, has been merging tradition with innovation, a strategy that transformed a traditional family business into a multinational and culturally diverse corporation. Tannenbaum was introduced to the diamond industry by his father-in-law, Leo Schachter, who headed Leo Schachter Diamonds, then one of the largest manufacturers. He said, “At the time, diamond businesses were family enterprises located in New York or Antwerp. I set a goal to shift that paradigm and transform the company.” 

Geographic flexibility was his mantra and led to factories in Israel and Botswana. While managing Leo Schachter’s European polished sales, he connected with Moshe and Avraham Namdar who became his partners in 1981 in a manufacturing and polished distribution business, Schachter-Namdar, in Tel Aviv. Tannenbaum relocated there two years later and, with the Namdars, built what became Israel’s largest diamond exporter for more than 30 years. 

In 1997, long before the diamond world took the country’s beneficiation policy seriously, Tannenbaum set up a factory in Botswana to polish “the most beautiful rough in the world.” The factory trained and employed locals while implementing social projects such as water supply and support for an orphanage.

He takes great pride too in Leo Schachter’s breakthrough in branding polished diamonds, calling it the best way “to stand out in a commoditised product category that was becoming dominated by large, over-competitive players.” The Leo Diamond, developed in the late 1990s, became the company’s flagship brand. Tannenbaum continues to innovate, developing proprietary programmes designed to fit the needs of local markets.

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As part of its 40th anniversary content programme, JNA is casting the spotlight on the “Extraordinary 40” Awardees with special online features covering the highlights of their careers and the valuable lessons they have learned along the way. Click here to view the “Meet the Extraordinary 40” series from May to September, with new profiles published every week.