Element Six, the De Beers Group business established in 1946 and focused on the development and production of synthetic diamond and tungsten carbide advanced material solutions, announced that Walter Huehn will stand down as Chief Executive as of 31 January 2023. The process to recruit Walter’s successor is underway and the successful candidate will be announced in due course.

Over the past ten years, Element Six has successfully navigated a wide range of challenges and opportunities, fulfilling many strategic developments, such as broadening its Oil & Gas product offering to a wider customer pool, accelerating the market penetration of tungsten carbide and synthetic diamond solutions, as well as expanding the CVD production capabilities to satisfy growing markets in semiconductors, defence and high-power laser applications.

Furthermore, some of the most significant milestones over the last few years include the expansion and sustainability efforts implemented across E6’s global HPHT, Carbide and CVD production sites, as well as, most recently, the introduction of a new, fully automated manufacturing line in Germany, and the delivery of one of the world’s largest, most advanced CVD scale manufacturing facilities in the US.

Despite some of the challenges faced during the past decade, such as the COVID-19 global pandemic, Element Six continued its strategic journey, leading to numerous R&D and innovation achievements, new business models and novel commercial and academic collaborations.

“Walter has led Element Six with distinction for the best part of a decade and has continued to deliver excellent value for our business, successfully guiding Element Six through its strategic journey, despite a range of global challenges to contend with. He is passionate about innovation, and about the potential for synthetic diamonds to provide novel solutions to some of the world’s most intractable problems. One of his most important legacies, however, is the outstanding team he has built at Element Six, which has a wealth of knowledge, expertise and passion, as well as a clear vision of where the key opportunities for the business lie in the future. Synthetic diamonds have the potential to transform the world of technology, and Walter’s successor will work closely with the leadership team to ensure Element Six remains at the forefront of innovation in the advanced material solutions sector.”

said Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers Group.

Source: Element Six (E6)