As Chief Executive Officer of the American Gem Trade Association, Mr. Hucker represents the premier Association of United States and Canadian colored gemstone and cultured pearl professionals.  The American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) is an association dedicated to promoting the long term stability and integrity of the natural colored gemstone and cultured pearl industries. The Association pursues its goals through the combined use of educational programs, publicity, industry events, government and industry relations, and printed materials for both the trade and consumer. The AGTA is well-known in the gemstone and jewelry industries for maintaining the highest ethical standards.

The AGTA annually produces GemFair™ Tucson, the largest and most prestigious trade fair worldwide devoted to colored gemstones and cultured pearls. It also annually produces the AGTA Spectrum Awards™, the jewelry industry’s most prestigious design competition celebrating colored gemstone and cultured pearl designer and lapidary excellence.

The AGTA acts as the voice of the colored gemstone industry in jewelry associations and events as well as advocating for the industry in legislative bodies and regulatory agencies of the United States government.  Mr. Hucker represents the AGTA in numerous national and international industry groups.  In addition to his efforts to promote appreciation and enthusiasm for colored gemstones, Mr. Hucker oversees the Association’s unflagging commitment to ethics, professionalism and consumer protection.  AGTA members annually commit to engage in business practices governed by the AGTA Code of Ethics.

Mr. Hucker spent eight years at GIA, first as an instructor of diamond grading and gemstone identification, and then as Manager of the Institute's Extension Division, where he was responsible for gemology classes taught to jewelers in major cities throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Mr. Hucker specialized in importing fine gemstones into the United States. He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Gem Trade Association, the American Gem Society, was Director of Marketing for Krementz Gemstones, one of the oldest jewelry manufacturing firms in the United States, and was President and partner of The Registry Ltd., a firm specializing in antique and estate jewelry.

He is a Graduate Gemologist of the GIA, a Certified Gemologist Appraiser of the American Gem Society, and a member of the American Society of Jewelry Historians.