Dilip Mehta - «A Jaguar in his Natural Environment»

By Zeljka Vujkovic

Who is one of the key people behind the success of Rosy Blue?  What are the value’s he appreciates the most?
Mr. Dilip Mehta was born in Mumbai on November 13th 1949. Today he is CEO of the Rosy Blue Group. Together with the other Group Partners Mr. Harshad Mehta, Mr. Arun Mehta, Mr. Russell Mehta and Mr. Amit Bhansali he has succeeded in creating a diamond business with over $ 1.8bn in sales. With offices, factories and stores in 15 countries, Rosy Blue is firmly established across the value chain and in all major diamond and jewelry centers globally.

Mr. Dilip Mehta: Over the past 45 years our family has evolved from a very humble beginning to a multinational corporation with over 10,000 employees. As one prospers, one’s social responsibilities increases. We share our business successes by giving back to our community, our town, our country and the world in which we work and live. Hence, value for what we have must be at the core of our thinking.

In 2008 you received the Honorary Title Baron by His Majesty King Albert II. What a great honor. How do you feel about receiving this Title?
Mr. Dilip Mehta: I am honored to have received this Title, but clearly want to state that this Title belongs to my family, our company, the entire Indian community and all my colleagues in the diamond sector. Without their support I would have never achieved this. My roots are in India but Antwerp has a special place in my heart.

When I visited the company located on the 12th floor in the Antwerp diamond district I was very surprised to see such a multi cultural dynamic working environment.
Mr. Dilip Mehta: Indeed our core values are accountability, diversity, integrity. Although we are a family-owned business, we have a very balanced workforce of family and non family members. At all locations, the majority of the employees come from the local population, typical reflecting its ethnic diversity. Here in Antwerp for example we have over 10 different nationalities. This definitely adds value to the multi-cultural working environment.

Rosy Blue has played a pioneering role in many instances. How are you moving forward?
Mr. Dilip Mehta: The global economy of the 21st century is creating new economic opportunities. But succeeding in these complex times will take more than improved technology and a higher turnover – it will demand new kinds of engagement of a company. Indeed, one of the major challenges for companies today, lies in providing responsible leadership in times of significant change. As a public sign of Rosy Blue’s commitment to corporate responsibility, in June 2008, we signed the United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest voluntary initiative to promote corporate social responsibility. Rosy Blue is also a founding member of the Responsible Jewellery Council and has been actively involved from the start both at Board and Committee levels. This year we are participating in several pilot projects to implement these new standards of compliance. For the first time, Rosy Blue will publish a Corporate Social Responsibility report for the 2008 period to provide an insight into our activities.

How is the diamond business changing in the current economic environment?
Mr. Dilip Mehta: We are all concerned about the effects it may have on our value chain. Although this is not the first crisis our industry has faced, what makes this crisis different is the inexplicable speed of developments.

What measures has Rosy Blue undertaken?
Mr. Dilip Mehta: We have fine-tuned both our buying and selling activities so that each transaction and derivative processes add value. This means that we have tightened our inventory position, improved our manufacturing efficiency and concentrated our efforts in servicing our best clients so that we may deliver more value to them.
The new business era is going to come, definitely, after this hurricane. Do you agree?
Mr. Dilip Mehta: I absolutely agree. We have to build up a new prosperity. The new prosperity is shared prosperity. The global economy of the 21st century is creating new economic opportunities. But succeeding in these complex times will take more than improved technology and a higher turnover – it will demand new kinds of engagement of a company. Indeed, one of the major challenges for companies today, lies in providing responsible leadership in times of significant change.

Baron Dilip Mehta, if I could choose an animal that reflects your personality I would say… a jaguar…
Mr. Dilip Mehta: I am just trying to do what is right for our business. Yes I am a passionate diamantaire with Indian roots. I am proud of my humble background and I am looking forward to working together with the future generations to continue to build our business.
 And don’t forget: If you are lucky enough to see a jaguar in his natural environment, the impression will last a lifetime. I had that privilege and yes I’m lucky!