Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has named Katherine Palmer Andrews to its newly created position of vice-president of ethics and compliance.
Formerly chief compliance officer at General Electric Co., Andrews has extensive experience developing enterprise compliance programs and leading global teams. She will work with senior GIA management to ensure the integrity of the institute’s compliance and ethics programs.
“GIA has been named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute for the last two years in recognition of the excellent work that has gone into our compliance program,” said Susan Jacques, GIA’s president and chief executive officer (CEO). Â
“Katherine’s impressive skills and experience will help us build upon that success, ensuring GIA continues as a leader in ethics and compliance.”
Andrews is based in New York and reports to Jacques.
“It is paramount we do our very best to ensure the public trust in gems and jewellery,” Andrews said. “I’m looking forward to working with my new colleagues at GIA to build the institute’s organizational capacity to meet the compliance challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. This will be my top priority.”
Andrews has worked with the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, in private practice, and as an in-house attorney for GE Energy. There, she led the global compliance team for five years and was responsible for all legal and compliance aspects of the integration of a significant mining equipment and services company into GE Transportation.
Andrews joins GIA from Thomson Reuters, where she developed an enterprise-wide compliance program.
She is a founding member of the Chief Compliance Officers Forum in Atlanta and a board member of the Georgia Bar Antitrust Section. She holds a doctor of law degree from Duquense University School of Law and a bachelor of mechanical engineering from Villanova University.
