Yair Sahar was born in Israel in 1958 and joined the diamond industry in 1980. He started out cleaving and trading rough diamonds; however following the 1991 crisis he began specializing in polished diamonds. In the year 2000, together with Motti Abu, he established the partnership "Sahar – Atid" which specializes in the manufacture and marketing of polished diamonds. The partnership receives a fixed supply of rough diamonds from the DTC (Diamond Trading Company) and the Canadian company Harry Winston, manufactures and markets in Israel, operating from its offices in the United States, Hong Kong and other parts of the world. In 2010 the partnership was awarded the title "Outstanding Exporter in the Diamond Industry" by the President of the State of Israel, Shimon Peres.
Prior to his election as President of the Diamond Exchange, Yair Sahar held a wide variety of public positions in the Diamond Exchange, the Diamond Manufacturers' Association and the Israel Diamond Institute. Among the roles he held were leading positions including Deputy President of the Diamond Exchange, Vice President, member of the board of directors, treasurer and chairman of many committees involved in policy making and organizing the complex and diverse life of the Israel Diamond Exchange. In the elections in July 2011, Yair Sahar was elected President of the Israel Diamond Exchange and Chairman of the Israel Diamond Exchange Enterprises. At the same time he serves the Israel Diamond Manufacturers' Association as Chairman of the Finance Committee, as a member of its presidium and as a member of various committees thereof and serves the Israel Diamond Institute as a member of the Board of directors of and as a member of its various committees.
Yair Sahar is married to Michal. The couple has four children: 29-year-old Idan, 25-year-old student Chen, 21-year-old Ran who will soon complete his IDF military service and Hila, 16, who is an 11th grade high school student. Yair Sahar's eldest son joined the partnership Sahar - Atid in 2003 after earning a bachelor's degree (BA) in Economics and Business Administration.
