Gareth Penny's consortium is the right fit for De Beers, says Botswana Diamonds boss

As Anglo American worked through a crowded field of bidders for De Beers in early 2026, Botswana Diamonds managing director James Campbell argued publicly that a consortium led by former De Beers chief executive Gareth Penny was the only credible option capable of turning the business around.

Campbell set out four criteria he believed any acceptable buyer needed to meet: deep knowledge of the diamond industry, genuine expertise in diamond marketing, enough financial firepower to fund further expansion at mines such as Jwaneng and Orapa, and strong relationships with the African governments — Namibia, Botswana, Angola and South Africa — that host De Beers's core operations. "The consortium led by Gareth Penny is the only one of the known bidders that I believe meets all these requirements," Campbell said.

Marketing, not just lab-grown, gets the blame

Campbell placed unusually direct blame for De Beers's collapse in value on the company's own retreat from advertising, rather than solely on the rise of lab-grown competition. "Twenty years ago De Beers was worth $12bn. Now it's worth around $3bn to $4bn," he said. "Why is that? I believe it is the result of the massive drop in advertising and marketing spend on diamonds by Anglo American."

A sentiment-driven business

Campbell argued that Penny's "statesman-like" reputation within the trade, combined with a renewed commitment to marketing, could revive a business he described as fundamentally sentiment-driven — one capable of rebounding quickly if consumer perception could be shifted back in favour of natural stones. That view chimed with the emerging Luanda Accord marketing push by African producer governments and De Beers's own subsequent pivot toward category advertising aimed at younger consumers later in 2026.

Not the only voice

Campbell's comments came as Botswana itself weighed whether to back Penny's Global Diamond Consortium, exercise its own pre-emption rights independently, or partner with a different bidder entirely — a decision complicated by competing interest from Angola, Namibia and Gulf-backed investors, and one that would take most of the rest of 2026 to resolve.

Sources

• Miningmx: Penny ticks the boxes for De Beers, says industry CEO, 30 Jan 2026

Photo: A visit to the Diamond Trading Company Botswana in Gaborone, De Beers's rough diamond sales hub. Vice President's Secretariat, Wikimedia Commons, GODL-India.