THE RAINMAKER

Evgeny Agureev, Director of Sales, ALROSA is a tireless leader, committed towards building a company that solely relies on transparency and forging alliances with diamond partners all over the world observes Aasha Gulrajani Swarup

The worlds of banking and diamonds could not be more divergent. But just scratch the surface and the quality of Trust and Transparency lie at the core of these seemingly different planets.

Born in 1978, Evgeny Agureev is an Economics graduate from Lomonosov Moscow University and holds a Masters’ degree in Financial Management with a stint at London Business School. Professionally, he has beena banker and financial analyst with commercial banks for more than 15 years. Personally, he has a reputation for being reliable and responsible. Challenges are his tonic. Hard work is his success mantra. Never, never, never give up is his life policy.

In August 2017, ALROSA chose this young and sharp banker for his smart and dependable traits, besides his financial training and impeccable integrity, to manage the company’s pre-sale preparations like sorting and preliminary valuations, develop rough diamonds sales, strengthen client relationships and initiate sale contracts with consumers.

“I discovered a new world when I joined ALROSA. I encountered a wealth of new information that I had to analyse and absorb.But first, I needed to quickly learn about the specific nature of diamonds and various diamond schemes. For starter, I learned to navigate the 8000 positions of the Russian Federation classifier, to be able to tell the difference between one diamond type from another, and quickly enough. This was a tough test, but not difficult because I have always accepted challenges, and the principle in my life is never, never give up,” Agureev elaborates.

‘Never, never, never give up!’ The essence of this quote by Churchill that hung as a sign on the wall at Agureev’s previous workplace, has by now seeped into his bloodstream and become his reality. Seemingly without fear, Agureev drinks up challenges like Ambrosia.

“Churchill and his words still inspire me to go forward and not to be afraid of challenges. Our industry is a challenge in itself; we constantly face difficulties in the market with rapid changes in the environment.”

Agureev, however, is a determined and ambitious Russian, who has changed the face of the company, mostly veiled behind a dense iron curtain, to become an open, responsive and approachable entity. He has built deep bonds with international industry associations like Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), Gem Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), Dubai and Israel Diamond Exchanges and Diamond Dealers Club of New York (DDC).

“We consider partnerships with industry organisations important for exchanging information and increasing market transparency,”Agureev said. Thinking ahead, ALROSA is even prepared to conduct sales transactions in roubles in the likelihood of imposition of political sanctions by US.

Agureev’s banking background too has proved a boon. Having worked with large amounts of data and strict financial reporting norms, he believes in the accuracy of figures and information too for fulfilling his sales responsibilities. Transparency and ethics are close to his heart, which make Agureev and ALROSA prominent players in the Kimberley Process.

“We are champions of transparency that defines the ethical standards of diamond mining. In this sense,ALROSA is an impeccable company, our diamonds are 100 per cent conflict free, as there never were any civil wars or conflicts in Russia.”

Taking the notes of transparency further, Agureev is committed to providing customers complete product information. ALROSA has joined the industry’s blockchain initiative to make its diamonds traceable from the mine to the finger. It is piloting the GIA’s (Gemological Institute of America) M2M programmeto share with the customer the story of its diamonds.

“Our tracing systems not only help to protect our customers from purchase of stones with a dubious reputation or purchase of synthetics under the guise of natural stone, but also potentially create a new experience for the consumer –the opportunity to see the provenance of the diamond since its origin from the mine and its unique history since the first purchase. We provide a guarantee for the authenticity of the stone,” Agureev states.

Playing the numbers game, Agureev has identified exploration and production as the most attractive and high margin segment in the diamond industry and is committed to enhance efficiency through innovation to‘make everyone happy’.

Be it protecting the environment, sustainable development, corporate social responsibility or long-term sales contracts, ALROSA has taken long strides as a global leader.

“We will further expand our base of loyal and reliable customers by securing reliable diamond offtake through long-term contracts. We will continue to build our reputation as a customer-focused business partner by improving sorting and box formation practices, offering improved assortments, pursuing transparent pricing policies and improving customer service,” Agureev elaborates.

Looking into the future, Agureev sees the need for diamond producers to adjust their marketing and development plans to tailor key messages for millennials and Generation Z througha multi-channel presence, especially digital platforms and social media communication, which will shape the bulk of future purchases.

No discussion with an industry leader can be complete without the mention of lab-grown diamonds. However, Agureev is not worried. He believes that the industry needs to differentiate the positioning of natural diamonds from lab grown diamonds.

“If the natural diamond industry can differentiate its stones from labgrown diamonds, the effect on natural diamonds demand by 2030 will be limited between 5 per cent and 10 per cent in value terms,” Agureev predicts.