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