“Women of the Diamond Industry” focuses on the issue of gender equality along the entire diamond and jewelry supply chain. The series provides a platform for women in the industry to tell their own stories and to describe the particular challenges they have faced in their careers.
The 26th article in the series is authored by Keren Benjo, Chief Operating Officer of the Niru Group, a leading diamond supplier. She is based in Israel.
FINDING MY PATH TO HAPPINESS
Keren Benjo, Chief Operating Officer and a board member of the Niru Group.
JULY 23, 2026
I am Keren Benjo, a mother to three children, a wife to Itay Benjo, and Chief Operating Officer and Board Member of the NIRU Group. Today, these parts of my identity feel deeply connected, but my path was not something I could have fully imagined when I first began searching for my direction.
Looking back, I can see that I was always a serious and curious young woman, ambitious and passionate about everything I chose to do. I wanted to build a meaningful life and make a real difference. At school, I was naturally drawn to physics, mathematics, and computer science. After my army service, I initially registered for engineering studies, a direction that reflected my technical strengths. At the same time, I continued searching for a path where my values, personality, and ambitions could come together.
At that stage, I went to see a career counsellor. After hearing about my strengths and aspirations, she gave me a piece of advice that has stayed with me ever since – choose a path connected to happiness, which means to the positive side of life. She believed I would bring the best of myself to a place where people celebrate, create, and experience joy.
Her words touched something deep inside me. Inspired by this insight, I decided to study business, keeping my future open to opportunity. Eventually, that path brought me to the NIRU Group, a company whose very purpose is spreading happiness.
Learning the craft from the ground up
In many ways, the NIRU Group was already part of my life before it became my professional home. My father, Micha Aharon, has been part of the diamond industry and the group for more than three decades. He began as a diamond polisher, later managed polishing facilities, and eventually built the Precision Division that serves leading luxury brand clients. Through him, I developed both a passion for diamonds and a deep appreciation for NIRU.
Because NIRU is a family-oriented company, many people there had known me since I was a little girl. When the opportunity arose, I began my own independent journey within the organization. I started from the stones themselves, working as a diamond sorter and later as a buyer.
This hands-on experience gave me a foundation built on patience, precision, and respect for the craft. I learned to understand quality, appreciate detail, and recognize that excellence is built through countless small decisions. Those lessons continue to shape the way I lead today.
The author and her father, Micha Aharon, a veteran diamantaire who developed NIRU’s Precision Division.
Building value and responsibility
Following that foundational role, I was provided the opportunity to build a new product category for NIRU – small round diamonds. I developed the product through manufacturing, established quality-control processes, and managed logistics, inventory, operations and sales. Through this experience, I gained a deep understanding of the complexity of our supply chain.
Working closely with leading luxury brands exposed me to the highest standards of professionalism, transparency, and responsibility. Traceability, responsible sourcing, compliance, and supply chain integrity became central to our daily work. These topics connected my professional responsibilities with my personal values, and this is where I truly fell in love with the diamond industry.
“I came to understand that diamonds are far more than beautiful stones,” writes the author.
I came to understand that diamonds are far more than beautiful stones. They carry stories, emotions, heritage, and responsibility. The jewelry we help create becomes part of some of life’s most meaningful moments – engagements, anniversaries, celebrations, achievements, and expressions of love.
As mentioned, at NIRU, our mission is to spread happiness. For me, that became the connection between what I was searching for as a young woman and what I do today as a business leader.
With experience comes an understanding of the complexity surrounding natural diamonds. While they symbolize beauty and celebration, they also carry a responsibility to ensure that every step of their journey reflects integrity and care. If the final jewel reaches someone during a joyful moment, then the journey that created it should also reflect respect, transparency and positive impact.
This belief became central to my view of business. Business is about growth, excellence and results, but it is also about influence. Every company affects employees, families, suppliers, clients, communities and the planet. The question is whether we use that influence responsibly.
Operational Excellence and Strategic Leadership
As my responsibilities grew, I became increasingly involved in operations, supply chain management, sustainability, traceability, people, processes, and business excellence. Over time, my path took me from stone sorter to product manager, from building divisions to broader operational leadership, and eventually to Group COO and a board member of the NIRU Group.
The author examining rough diamonds with Ranjeet Barmecha, founder and CEO of the NIRU Group.
Advancing to senior leadership was a professional and personal journey. I had to learn to trust my voice, make decisions with confidence, and recognize that leadership does not need to fit a single mold. I have never felt that I needed to become less feminine in order to lead. Sensitivity, intuition, emotional intelligence, and the ability to understand people are strengths in business, not weaknesses.
Today, as Group COO, I work across operations and supply chain to ensure the organization functions with efficiency, accountability, and excellence while remaining deeply connected to our values.
As a board member, I am involved in shaping strategy, growth and long-term development. For me, strategy must always be connected to purpose, and growth must always be connected to responsibility.
I feel fortunate to have learned from leaders whose values have shaped my own journey. Ranjeet Barmecha, founder and CEO of NIRU Group, has been an important mentor to me, and I have learned tremendously from his wisdom, vision, and the foundations he built for NIRU’s culture.
Today I have the privilege of working alongside Rakesh Barmecha, President of the company, who introduced the vision of Spreading Happiness as a core part of our culture.
Rakesh has had a profound influence on the leader I have become. From the time I joined NIRU as a young woman, he believed in me, gave me opportunities, and created the space for me to learn, grow, make mistakes, and become stronger through them.
Ranjeet and Rakesh’s leadership have always made me feel proud to be a woman in our organization. I have grown in a culture built on humility, openness, trust and opportunity. I have always felt encouraged to bring my full self to my role.
The author and Rakesh Barmecha, President of the Niru Group.
Being a woman, a mother and a leader
My experience as a woman in this industry has been positive, and for that I am grateful. I know not every woman has had the same experience, but I believe it is important to show that female leadership can be built through support, trust, opportunity and overcoming challenges.
At the same time, being a woman and a mother in a senior leadership role comes with challenges. Like many women, I often feel that I am balancing many responsibilities at once. There is a constant inner dialogue between home and work; wanting to give more time to my family while also wanting to invest more in my professional responsibilities.
That tension can be demanding, but I I know that in many ways it is what makes women such strong leaders. It teaches us to prioritize, stay focused, adapt quickly, and lead with both discipline and empathy. The challenge itself builds resilience.
Motherhood is the most meaningful role of my life. It has shaped the way I think, make decisions and lead. As a mother, you learn to nurture, plan, protect, and create the conditions for growth. You learn patience, responsibility, and the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously. These qualities strengthen leadership.
Empowering women
Women’s empowerment is something I feel deeply on both a personal and professional level. I admire the way women carry responsibility, think ahead, notice details, and bring emotional intelligence into decision-making.
The author with her husband, Itay, and three children, with the skyline of Tel Aviv in the background.
At NIRU, women represent 76 percent of our workforce. As part of our ESG roadmap, we have a clear commitment to creating opportunities for women to grow and advance within the organization. This goal aims to create an environment where women feel confident, supported, and able to thrive.
I am proud to be a woman, and I have always viewed it as an advantage. The challenges of balancing family, career, and leadership are real and they build stronger, sharper, and more resilient leaders.
I started as a young woman searching for direction. Ultimately, I found my place in an industry built around emotion, beauty, craftsmanship, responsibility and celebration. I grew within a company whose values became deeply connected to my own.
Today, as a mother, a woman, a business leader, a COO and a board member, I feel incredibly privileged to continue working toward one clear purpose. That is to spread happiness responsibly, wherever we have influence.
The author during a visit to a Debswana mine in Botswana.