JSE-listed Gemfields has appointed board member Martin Tolcher chairperson.
He succeeds Brian Gilbertson, who decided it best to step down amid an ongoing process of obtaining a dual listing on the Aim.
“The ongoing process had highlighted the father-and-son relationship between Gilbertson and CEO Sean Gilberton as a potential impediment to robust corporate governance,” the company said on Monday.
Gilbertson is resigning from all other Gemfields subsidiary directorships, but will retain nonexecutive directorships of Fabergé and Nairoto Resources, the latter housing Gemfields’ recently announced gold exploration project in Mozambique.
Tolcher has been a director of Gemfields since November 2008 and is a member of the company’s audit, remuneration and nomination committees.