CHRISTIE’S has announced Bonnie Brennan as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Brennan will take over the reins from Guillaume Cerutti, who has led the British-founded auction house as CEO for the past eight years.
Cerutti will move into a leadership role at Artémis, the holding company belonging to Christie’s owners François and François-Henri Pinault.
He will become the President of the Pinault Collection and continue to serve as Christie’s Chairman of the Board.
Cerutti recommended Brennan, a Michigan-born Irish-American whose ancestral roots lie in counties Kilkenny and Cork, for the CEO role.
Bonnie Brennan and Guillaume Cerutti (Pic: Darren Gerrish)“It has been a privilege and an absolute pleasure to serve as Christie’s Chief Executive Officer over the past eight years, working with an extraordinary team and, together, achieving numerous successes at auction and in private sales, while navigating some challenging moments,” Cerutti said.
“I am truly grateful to François Pinault and François-Henri Pinault for their ongoing trust and support, and I am excited by the new role they have entrusted to me,” he added.
“I am also proud to pass the baton to Bonnie, with whom I have worked closely for many years.
“She possesses all the qualities needed to uphold and expand Christie’s market leadership.”
Brennan has served in a variety of leadership roles since joining Christie’s in 2012 and has been Regional President of the Americas since 2021.
In that time she has grown the region substantially, with the Americas now accounting for 48 per cent of all Christie’s auction sales.
Prior to Christie’s, Brennan spent 15 years at Sotheby’s.
“It is an honour to be appointed as Christie’s CEO and to succeed Guillaume Cerutti, who has been an inspirational and effective leader, growing our business over the last eight years,” Brennan said.
“I have been lucky to work closely with him and I am grateful that we will continue this relationship as he remains Chairman of the Board.”
She added: “The global Christie’s team reflects unmatched passion, talent and dedication to our clients and one another.
“To lead this extraordinary group of people is a privilege that I take very seriously. I look forward to building on our 259-year legacy of connecting exceptional art and objects to passionate audiences.”