De Beers Group Auctions recently appointed Alastair Bickerstaff as head of product development and sales. The new role combines two instrumental elements of the business – product development and sales. 

Bickerstaff is tasked to develop more synergy between the two functions and better address customers’ needs, according to De Beers Group Auctions.

“The products we sell and how we sell them are intrinsically linked. Both must complement each other without exception,” noted Bickerstaff. “Only when industry-leading products are sold through an industry-leading platform will we truly be enabling our customers to have control and confidence in their purchasing.” 

He will also be leading the group’s product development and supply teams. This will allow the correct products to be created and shipped through De Beers’ production facility in the Singapore headquarters, the group said. 

Bickerstaff worked in rough diamond sorting departments and business units in London, Botswana, Belgium and South Africa. He has spent much of his career in large stones valuation and was also a technical manager in Global Sightholder Sales (GSS) in Botswana where he monitored Sightholders global polishing factories and kept up to date with current manufacturing processes and technologies.

He has been with Auctions since 2016 when he relocated to Singapore and eventually became head of production, where he streamlined operations and implemented technology solutions. He played a significant role in reinstating market rough purchases to complement the De Beers mines intake and ensure that Auctions can now provide a more comprehensive supply offering for De Beers’ customers.