Shmuel Schnitzer

Early years

Schnitzer is Israeli and was born in 1949. His father, Moshe Schnitzer, started the family diamond production and export business, M. Schnitzer & Co. in Tel Aviv. Moshe was a Romanian immigrant to Israel. He became a co-founder of the Israel Diamond Exchange located in Ramat Gan in 1947. It was under Moshe's twenty six-year tenure (1967–1993) as IDE president that the Israeli Diamond Exchange grew into the world's largest diamond exchange. A plaza next to the IDE is named after him.

Shmuel was exposed to the diamond business between the ages of five and six, and was groomed by his father to enter the diamond trade. He served in the Israel Defense Forces from 1967 to 1970 as a member of the Engineering Corps. Schnitzer then earned a law degree from Hebrew University in Jerusalem and worked in the legal profession before joining the family diamond business in 1972.

Career in the diamond industry

Schnitzer became a member of the Israel Diamond Manufacturers Association executive committee in 1988. Schnitzer’s time as IDE president witnessed turbulent events in the global diamond industry such as the break-up of the De Beers syndicate and the rise of Indian competitors in the international diamond trade.

As president of the WFDB, Schnitzer oversaw the induction of Mumbai and Shanghai as new bourse members. Schnitzer also introduced the WFDB mark. The WFDB mark is a trademarked logo that certifies that sellers abide by the World Federation Code of Principles. It is only displayed by approved members of diamond exchanges with an affiliation to the WFDB. The mark is intended for the assurance of clients and suppliers and to promote transparency and integrity throughout the diamond industry.

Schnitzer is a co-founder of the World Diamond Council dedicated to eliminating the use of conflict or blood diamonds. Blood diamonds are illicit diamonds procured from war zones and used to fund conflict. The Council was a precursor to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme agreement of 2003. The Kimberley Process is an industry-wide tracking agreement that certifies legitimate diamonds as not originating or being trafficked in conflict zones .

At a 2007 conference in Mumbai Schnitzer stressed the importance of industry regulations in areas such as anti-money laundering laws, child labor, and synthetic diamonds.

Schnitzer has expressed minimal concern at market threat posed by synthetic diamonds. Synthetic diamonds are artificial and are harvested in laboratory conditions. They are inexpensive compared to natural diamonds. Schnitzer believes that as long as a system of disclosure is in place the two markets can co-exist.

Schnitzer established S Schnitzer Diamonds with his son Shai in 2011, four years after the death of Moshe Schnitzer. Shai had previously started an Israeli-based company offering imaging solutions to the diamond trade. Imaging technology is an alternative to sending the physical diamond from one location to another. S. Schnitzer is a major Israeli manufacturer and exporter with offices in Tel Aviv, New York City, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Schnitzer is currently focused on philanthropic activity. He is the chairman of the Harry Oppenheimer Diamond Museum Directorate. He is a member of the Schnitzer Foundation for Research on Israeli Economy and Society at Bar Ilan University founded in 1982. The Foundation contains a fund allocated to providing scholarships to needy students.

As president of the IDE, Schnitzer facilitated the adoption of the Israeli city of Kiryat Malachi. Kiryat Malachi has a current population of 20,600 residents, with large Ethiopian and Russian communities. Schnitzer is also involved in fund-raising for hospitals in Israel, including the Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv and the Sheba Medical Center.

General Information

Schnitzer is the President and Chairman of the Beitar Shimshon Tel Aviv soccer team.