The announcement arrived by press release, but its meaning goes far beyond one promotion. Richline Group is restructuring its senior leadership, and the industry’s largest vertically integrated supplier now has a single executive accountable for every dollar of revenue it earns.
Who is Arien Gessner?
Arien Gessner joined Richline Group in 2013 as a marketing manager at Rio Grande, the Albuquerque-based supplier to bench jewellers and artisans. He then climbed steadily: marketing director, vice president and, for more than six years, president of Rio Grande. Before his jewellery career, he worked at Sandia National Laboratories on strategic planning for high-impact technology projects. He holds a BA in Economics and an MBA from the University of New Mexico.
Moreover, his industry citizenship runs deep. Gessner serves on the boards of the Responsible Jewellery Council, the Jewelers Vigilance Committee, the Jewelers Board of Trade and Jewelers for Children — a governance footprint that touches responsible sourcing, legal compliance, trade credit and charitable work.
What does the new Chief Revenue Officer role cover?
The CRO position did not exist before this week. In the expanded role, Gessner oversees revenue for Rio Grande, LeachGarner Attleboro, Nordt and Silpada, and he now adds Richline Jewelry U.S. He reports directly to Richline Group President and CEO Dave Meleski. Rio Grande’s day-to-day leadership continues through its existing vice-president team.
“Arien and Moss have each earned this through the expertise and leadership our industry demands,” Meleski said in the announcement, “and these expanded roles speak to the confidence we have in them as we plan for the future of our company and our businesses.”
Why is Richline Group restructuring now?
Richline describes the changes as part of a long-term organisational strategy that brings its portfolio under a more corporate senior management structure. In other words, the company wants its businesses to operate as one aligned group rather than a federation of independent units. Consequently, the same announcement promoted Moss Makhoulian to Senior Vice President of Supply Chain and Operations, another newly created post. Makhoulian, a three-decade luxury veteran with leadership stints at David Yurman, HONORA and Egana Goldpfeil, takes oversight of procurement, logistics, diamond supply and capacity planning for Richline’s owned factories in the Dominican Republic and China.
What does this mean for jewellers who buy from Richline businesses?
A unified revenue organisation usually changes how a supplier shows up at your counter. Therefore, wholesale customers should expect more coordinated account management across Richline brands, broader cross-selling between metals, findings and finished jewellery, and pricing conversations that treat the relationship as one account rather than five. In addition, a consolidated supply chain under Makhoulian signals tighter delivery discipline — a meaningful consideration for retailers planning holiday inventory against volatile gold prices.
The Canadian angle
Rio Grande has long been a fixture on Canadian benches. Independent goldsmiths, CAD designers and repair shops from Vancouver to Halifax order tools, findings and metals from the Albuquerque supplier, and LeachGarner mill products flow into Canadian manufacturing as well. However, Richline does not publicly break out Canadian revenue, and no Canada-specific figures accompanied this announcement. Canadian data is therefore unavailable for this story. What Canadian buyers can watch for is practical: whether the unified revenue structure brings dedicated cross-border account coverage, better duty-and-logistics handling, and Canadian-dollar programme pricing.
What should readers do next?
Suppliers consolidate when they plan to compete harder. Accordingly, if Richline businesses sit in your vendor mix, this is the moment to revisit terms, ask your representative what the unified structure means for your account, and benchmark against alternative suppliers before the new organisation sets its own agenda.
FAQ
Q: Who is the new Chief Revenue Officer of Richline Group? A: Arien Gessner, formerly president of Rio Grande, was named Chief Revenue Officer of Richline Group on July 8, 2026. The role is newly created.
Q: What companies does Richline Group own? A: Richline Group’s portfolio includes Richline Jewelry, Rio Grande, LeachGarner, John C. Nordt and Silpada. The group is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.
Q: Who does Arien Gessner report to at Richline Group? A: Gessner reports directly to Dave Meleski, President and CEO of Richline Group.
Q: Who leads Rio Grande now that Gessner has moved up? A: Rio Grande’s leadership continues through its existing vice-president team, which reports into Richline Group’s executive leadership.
Q: Was anyone else promoted alongside Gessner? A: Yes. Moss Makhoulian was promoted to Senior Vice President of Supply Chain and Operations, also a newly created corporate role, with oversight of procurement, logistics, diamond supply and factory capacity planning.
