London-listed Petra Diamonds has announced a series of board appointments following its AGM on November 27, including that of Vivek Gadodia and Juan Kemp as permanent joint CEOs of the company.

Gadodia and Kemp had been operating as joint interim CEOs from February and will now continue in their roles in a permanent capacity, with Gadodia focusing on the corporate side of the business and Kemp on the operational side.

Shareholders of Petra also resolved to appoint Kushal Kumar, who has more than 30 years of experience in international financial markets, as a nonexecutive director.

Kumar has worked in investment management, credit markets and corporate banking for companies such as Lehman Brothers in London, JP Morgan and Bank of America, in Hong Kong, as well as American Express Bank in India.

He is also a member of the Kyma Capital advisory board, with Kyma Capital being a major holder of Petra’s bonds and shares. Therefore, Kumar is not considered an independent director.

In succeeding Bernard Pryor as senior nonexecutive director and chairperson of the nomination and remuneration committees, who resigned to focus on his executive roles, Lerato Molebatsi has been appointed in his stead as a senior independent nonexecutive director, with nonexecutive chairperson José Vargas having been appointed chairperson of the remuneration and nomination committees.

Petra advises that Alex Watson also stepped down from the board in her role as board observer.

In a statement announcing the appointments, Vargas welcomes the new additions to the board and says it will bring stability at the helm of the company. He says he looks forward to working with all directors towards the delivery of Petra’s next strategic targets.

Gadodia and Kemp, meanwhile, say they look forward to steering the company on a permanent basis.

“Over the last nine months, we have delivered a streamlined, more resilient business as we looked to execute the refinancing of the company. We will continue our focus on the execution of extension projects as we look to unlock value for our stakeholders in the short to medium term,” they state.

Petra operates two underground diamond mines in South Africa – Cullinan and Finsch, with the focus currently being on optimising recoveries and maximising efficiency.