Two Exciting Panels Featured at AGS x GIA Converge
Industry leaders and GIA legends share their insights
CARLSBAD, Calif. – August 18, 2025 – Industry leaders and some of GIA’s most experienced gemological experts will share their expertise and insights with participants at Converge, the singular gem and jewelry industry event combining the unique expertise of the American Gem Society (AGS) and the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). The two panel discussions will open the second day of Converge, which takes place September 7 – 10, 2025, in Carlsbad, CA.The first panel, titled Thriving Through Change: Strategies for What’s Next, will focus on the challenges and opportunities the industry faces in the current market. The panelists are Lisa Bridge, Governor, GIA Board of Governors; Martin Katz, Founder and CEO, Martin Katz, Ltd; Olivia Landau, founder and CEO of The Clear Cut; Colleen Rooney, Chief Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Officer, Signet Jewelers; and Wesley Tucker, CEO, Tracr. Professor David Ager, senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, will moderate the panel.
The second panel, Legends of Gemology, will feature a discussion between four of the leading gemological experts at GIA - pioneering photomicrographer and author John Koivula; GIA Global Director of Colored Stone Services Shane McClure; GIA Chief Laboratory and Research Officer Tom Moses and GIA Senior Research Fellow Dr. James Shigley. These four living legends will share what they have seen and learned in their nearly 200 years of combined knowledge and unique experiences at GIA. Susan Jacques, GIA Strategic Advisor, who has an additional 30 years of experience as a member and Chair of the GIA Board of Governors and as GIA President and CEO from 2014 to 2025, will moderate the panel.
This panel reprises a similar event from the 1999 GIA International Gemological Symposium, which featured four of GIA’s greatest gemological minds - Richard T. Liddicoat, G. Robert Crowningshield, Bert Krashes and Glenn Nord, moderated by then-GIA President, William Boyajian.
There are still registrations available for Converge, and there are a limited number of seats for the Harvard Business School program, Common Purpose - Resilience, Relevance, and Renewal. Registration options and detailed information, including gemological research presentations, GIA education sessions and AGS professional education programs, are available at https://www.convergeevent.com/event/converge/register-now-.
