Bonnie Brennan

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Bonnie Brennan (born c. 1973) [1] is an American auction-house executive. She has been the CEO of Christie's since February 1, 2025. Prior to that, she had a 13-year career at Christie's, including four years as head of Christie's Americas. Before joining Christie's she had a 15-year career at Sotheby's.

Contents

Early life and education

Brennan is a native of Michigan, [2] and grew up in a suburb outside of Detroit. [3] She attended the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. [4]

She graduated from Northwestern University, [5] where she majored in both art history and communications, [6] receiving a BA in 1995. [7]

Career

Brennan's very early career was in the advertising business. [3]

She began her auction-house career at Sotheby's, in 1997. [5] She worked in various business development roles focused on trusts and estates in New York, [5] eventually reaching the position of senior vice president. [3]

Brennan moved to Christie's in 2012. [5] She rose through positions including head of trusts, estates, and wealth management for Christie's Americas. [5] [8] By 2020 she was chairman of business development of Christie's Americas; [9] in this position she helped secure and manage major estate sales such as the 2018 Barney A. Ebsworth auction, as well as the collections of Jayne Wrightsman and the non-profit Cleveland Clinic. [5]

In 2021 she was appointed president of Christie’s Americas, [5] and during her tenure the region grew to account for 48 percent of Christie's sales. [10] [11] She played a key role in securing Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's $1.6 billion art collection for Christie's auction, [1] and oversaw the auctions of the collections of Ann and Gordon Getty, Anne H. Bass, and Barney Ebsworth. [12] She also championed increasing Christie's digital strategy and diversifying the auction house's offerings to engage younger and more diverse buyers. [12] [13]

On February 1, 2025, Brennan was appointed CEO of Christie's, succeeding Guillaume Cerutti. [11] She has stated that she plans to preserve Christie's heritage while focusing on innovation and engaging new audiences, geographies, and technology, including AI. [12] [14] [11]

Personal life

Brennan is based in New York City, [1] and divides her time between New York and London. [15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Crow, Kelly (January 15, 2025). "Christie's Appoints New CEO". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  2. "Bonnie Brennan". Irish America . 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 Schultz, Abby (August 15, 2022). "20 Minutes With: Christie's President for the Americas Bonnie Brennan". Barron's . Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  4. "The Art Business Conference, New York May 23 + 24". TheArtBusinessConference.com. 2024. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Villa, Angelica (March 4, 2021). "Bonnie Brennan and Jennifer Zatorski Rise at Christie's". ARTnews . Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  6. "Bonnie Brennan". CNBC . Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  7. Kong, Yue Ting (January 16, 2025). "Christie's President of the Americas Bonnie Brennan replaces Guillaume Cerutti as CEO". TheValue.com. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  8. "The State of the Art Market 2020". Columbia Business School Alumni Club of New York. August 17, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  9. Villa, Angelica (October 6, 2020). "280,000 Viewers Watch Christie's Live-Streamed $341 M. Evening Sale Featuring Rothko, Twombly and a T. Rex". ARTnews . Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  10. Conti, Samantha (January 15, 2025). "Christie's Names Bonnie Brennan CEO, Guillaume Cerutti President of the Pinault Collection". WWD . Yahoo! Finance . Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  11. 1 2 3 Cassady, Daniel (January 15, 2025). "Bonnie Brennan Named CEO of Christie's, Guillaume Cerutti Remains Board Chair". ARTnews . Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  12. 1 2 3 Carollo, Elisa (January 15, 2025). "Christie's Shakes Up Its Executive Leadership Team as Pinault Calls Guillaume Cerutti to Lead Artémis". Observer . Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  13. Frank, Robert (January 23, 2025). "New Christie's CEO Bonnie Brennan sees opportunity in younger collectors and crypto". CNBC . Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  14. Gerlis, Melanie (January 22, 2025). "Top auction houses courted the crypto crew — is it enough to save them?". Financial Times . Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  15. "Visionary film director David Lynch dies aged 78". Apollo . January 19, 2025. Retrieved June 12, 2025.