Pamela Fierst-Walsh, a former U.S. State Department expert on conflict diamonds, has joined De Beers Group as vice president of government affairs for North America. The announcement was made via her LinkedIn profile.
A Career Built on Policy and Traceability
Fierst-Walsh spent 17 years at the State Department, where she served as senior adviser on conflict and critical minerals and acted as the U.S. representative to the Kimberley Process (KP) from 2017 to 2021. After leaving the State Department, she became vice president of traceability at PVH Corp., the parent company of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger.
Her new role at De Beers is part of the company’s growing government affairs team, led by Emma Wade-Smith, OBE, a former U.K. consul general in Washington, D.C., who joined the company in February.
A Team of Policy Experts
Wade-Smith’s government affairs team includes:
- Shridaran Pillay, vice president of government affairs for the U.K. and European Union, previously a public policy manager at Meta (Facebook’s parent company).
- James R. Innes, a government affairs specialist with a background in the U.K. Parliament and various think tanks, who joined in October.
“We have a fascinating set of issues to tackle here at De Beers Group,” Wade-Smith wrote on LinkedIn. “Looking forward to a jam-packed year ahead.”