Elaine Holt Named Deputy Chairman of Sotheby’s Asia
By Camilla Alvarez-Chow
Portrait of ELAINE HOLT. Courtesy Sotheby’s.
On June 26, Sotheby’s announced the appointment of Elaine Holt as chairman of Modern and Contemporary Art and as deputy chairman of the British auction house’s Asia division. She will assume the roles in July, coinciding with the opening of the second Sotheby’s Hong Kong location, in the luxury mall Landmark Chater in Central district.
With over 20 years of experience in the fine art industry, Holt will set out to support the growth of Sotheby’s Asia by helping to further the auction house’s investment strategies and expand its regional business to further its global integration. Sebastian Fahey, the managing director of Global Fine Arts, stated: “We are very excited to welcome Elaine to the Modern and Contemporary Art team in Asia to continue to develop and grow our Asia business. Elaine will join during a landmark moment for Sotheby’s as we open our Maison in the heart of Hong Kong.”
The auction house will also see Joseph Yang and Boris Cornelissen begin their new roles as Hong Kong’s regional senior specialists in August and October, respectively. Yang and Cornelissen will be part of a regional team of specialists such as Felix Kwok, the head of Modern Art for Sotheby’s Asia, joining Holt in preparing for the company’s latest venture.
As for the auction house’s current leadership, after three years of helming the Modern and Contemporary Art division chairman Alex Branczik and head of Contemporary Art Sales Max Moore will return to London and New York, respectively, in October. Branczik will go on to be chairman for Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Art division in Europe and spearhead the company’s business-getting efforts, while Moore will return to New York to join the private sales division and lead the recently launched sales platform, Sotheby’s Sealed.
Camilla Alvarez-Chow is an editorial assistant at ArtAsiaPacific.
