Producer of large, high-quality lab-grown diamonds for the jewellery, scientific and industrial markets, WD Lab Grown Diamonds (WD) has promoted interim board president Mike Grunza to CEO.
The promotion has been actioned as part of WD’s leadership succession programme.
Commenting on his new role, Grunza said: “I’m excited to leverage our operational and innovative excellence with the WD team, accelerating our positions in the diamond luxury and diamond electronics markets.
“I’m looking forward to both expanding our capabilities in existing markets as well as exploring the boundaries for our diamonds’ application in industrial markets.”
Grunza has served on WD’s board since 2020 and has been acting as interim president since August 2022.
Grunza previously served as CEO of Form Technologies, a global process engineering and materials forming company, since 2020.
As a veteran of General Electric Aviation and GE Power and Water, Grunza has extensive technical and software acumen, and a breadth of experience in the metals and materials businesses.
WD is a market leader in Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) diamonds, with its lab-grown diamonds certified by the International Gemological Institute (IGI), among other labs.
The company offers new technologies and applications for lab-grown diamonds in industrial settings.
WD is majority-owned by private equity investment firm Huron Capital Partners.
Discussing the appointment of Mike Grunza as CEO of WD, Brian Walker, partner with Huron Capital, said: “Over the last two years, the Huron Capital team has been impressed with every aspect of Mike’s acumen in the space, his relationships, and his vision for WD.
“Mike’s leadership will support our ambition in both the diamond luxury and diamond electronics markets and our team has already benefited from his operational and financial performance optimization experience.
“He is the natural successor to Sue Rechner.”
Senior partner with Huron Capital, Mike Beauregard added: “After 3 years of leadership and positioning the company for its next stage of growth, Sue sought to retire.
“The board is thankful to Sue for her leadership and commitment to the business.
“We wish her well in her retirement.
“I am highly confident that this team is on a path to capture its potential and drive a generation of growth.”
