Steve Velasquez began his career as a Store Manager for Barry’s Jewelers in 1993. He held positions of Area Manager and District Manager.

Samuels Jewelers took over the company and moved the corporate offices from Monrovia, CA to Austin, TX in 1998. Steve became Director of Operations, driving sales and focusing on training (all meetings and the National Conference), special events and the roll outs of new programs, such as extended service plans.

Steve then went on to launch the Samuels Diamonds division, which is a higher end, free stand store concept focusing on brands (i.e. Scott Kay, Ritani) and a great in-store experience with extremely knowledgeable teams giving presentations focused on 4Cs, product knowledge and adding value through expertise. DCA and other training and educational programs played a large role in the success of this division.

Gitanjali, an Indian based company, purchased Samuels Jewelers and Steve worked with the management team on the transition of ownership and management, as well as the later transition of the Rogers Ltd. acquisition. Steve later became Vice President of Advertising and then Senior Vice President of Operations, overseeing all store sales and operations for the company.

Steve helped build the company’s network, marketing, programming, social media, production, operations, and the multi-platform business models of Andrews Jewelers, Rogers Jewelers, Samuels Diamonds, Samuels Jewelers, and Schubach Jewelers.

In 2012, Steve left Gitanjali and served as Chief Operating Officer of Madison Jewelers in New York. He took the 5 store chain, dealing in diamond fashion, color and luxury Swiss timepieces, and grew the organization to 10 stores in Manhattan in 18 months.

In March of 2014, Steve rejoined Gitanjali as President and COO and now is focused on driving growth for the company which he served with for so many years. Steve is a forward-thinking, energetic leader with a proven track-record of growing revenue through innovative products and partnerships. He is an expert at operations with a focus on training, jewelry education and in store experience driven by the best sales teams providing the best presentations.

IOWA DIAMOND
President & Owner

Chuck Kuba is the president and owner of Iowa Diamond in Des Moines. Prior to founding Iowa Diamond in 1999 with his wife Lynn, Mr. Kuba served as executive vice president and general manager of Nebraska Diamond in Lincoln, a company that was established by his family in 1980.

Mr. Kuba is an expert in high-demographic marketing with over 40 years of experience, 24 of them in the diamond and jewelry industries. His father was a lapidary who cut colored gemstones for the trade and his grandfather manufactured men’s rings and was a pioneer in jewelry metallurgy. Mr. Kuba’s cousin taught jewelry making and design at the Gemological Institute of America and his sister is a co-founder of Nebraska Diamond. With wife Lynn, who is senior vice president, daughters Jennifer and Melissa, and two grandchildren that have joined the company part-time, Iowa Diamond is now a fifth-generation jeweler.

Previously, Mr. Kuba was employed as an account executive with a major Midwest advertising agency, as publisher of Performing Arts magazine, general director of the Lyric Opera of Dallas, director of marketing and communications of The Dallas Opera, assistant executive director for institutional advancement of the Asolo Center for Performing Arts, and as director of marketing for the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra.

As a sales and marketing consultant, Mr. Kuba has worked for a variety of clients, including Ford Motor Company, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Texas Heart and Texas Children’s Hospital, Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation in Houston, The Texas Clinical Research Center, the Lied Center for Performing Arts, The Nebraska Repertory Theatre, and the Magna Carta in America Foundation for touring and development.

In the area of community service, Mr. Kuba currently serves as president of the Des Moines Area Religious Council (which supplies the food for 13 food pantries) and past president of the Iowa Jewelers Association. Previously, he served as both vice president and treasurer of the Des Moines Metro Opera and as a founding member of the Clive Public Arts Advisory Commission. A professional musician himself (double bass), he is a board member of Music Under The Stars and plays regularly with the “Java Jews” Klezmer band and the “Iowa Diamondtaires”, the house band for Iowa Diamond. He is also a former member of the board of directors of Temple B’nai Jeshurun in Des Moines.

Nationally, Mr. Kuba was appointed by the Secretary of State to serve on the Florida Strategic Cultural Planning Taskforce and was invited by the National Endowment for the Arts and Southern Arts Federation to participate as a panelist on outreach programs and the Americans With Disability Act. He also served on Grants Review Panels for the states of Florida and Texas as well as the Nebraska Arts Council. He is a former member of the Nebraska Public Radio Citizens Advisory Board, former president of the Nebraska Brass, and former board member of the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra Association. He is the former president of the Jewish Federation of Lincoln Nebraska and continues to be a member in good standing of Holland Lodge No.1 AF&AM of Houston, Texas.

Mr. Kuba holds a Graduate Gemologist diploma from the Gemological Institute of America, a Bachelor of Arts degree in non-profit management from the University of Nebraska, has held a teaching assistantship at Florida Atlantic University, and continues to lecture at college campuses on monopoly and oligopoly in the diamond industry as well as marketing, advertising and public relations. He has been accepted as an Accredited Senior Gemologist by the Accredited Gemologists Association, is registered as a Certified Diamontologist with the Diamond Council of America and has the distinction of being a Jewelers of America Certified Senior Management Professional. He has taken best-in-show, first and second place awards in Iowa Jewelers Association Design Competitions and designed the Championship Ring for the Dirt Track Truck Racing Association.

Under his leadership, Iowa Diamond has grown rapidly and was named to the Inc 5000 as one of the fastest growing private companies in the country by Inc. Magazine in 2007. In 2012, the company was awarded the IJO National Recognition Award as the Best Family Diamond Store in America. Iowa Diamond has also been accepted into membership of the Independent Jewelers Organization, Jewelers Vigilance Committee, Jewelers of America, The Diamond Council of America, and the Iowa Jewelers Association, as well as the Greater Des Moines Partnership and the Better Business Bureau (A+ Rating).

Mr. Kuba has been married for 44 years to his wife Lynn, who is Senior Vice President of Iowa Diamond. They have two daughters and four grandchildren. Pastimes include playing double bass, tennis, and golf.