Russian Owned Phillips Auctioneers Appoints Edward Dolman As New CEO

Edward Dolman, the executive director and acting chief executive of The Qatar Museums Authority has revealed that he is taking over the reins at Phillips Auctioneers, the fourth largest auction house in the world.  Mr. Dolman, 54, spent 27-years at Christie’s where he was chief executive and chairman before his departure. He has now decided to join Phillips as chairman and chief executive and will share his time between the auction house’s London and New York headquarters, overseeing and developing a major growth strategy for the business, which will include a push abroad as well as the inclusion of new categories.

Former Chairman Simon de Pury who left effective 21 December 2013, after twelve years in the top job, said he was prepared to ‘take the money and run’. Dubbed ‘the man with the golden gavel’, Simon de Pury, 60, chief auctioneer and chairman of Phillips, has effectively sold it to the Russians. Dolman’s appointment comes at a crucial time for Phillips, which will open a brand new headquarters at 30 Berkeley Square in London this October.

Moscow-based Mercury Group which bought control of Phillips de Pury & Company, the New York and London- based auction house said in an e-mailed statement. Phillips’s founder and chairman, Simon de Pury, retains a stake in the company as part of what the e-mailed news release calls “a strategic partnership.”

“We have seen tremendous growth in the company over the last four years,” said De Pury in the statement. “This partnership with a major player in the luxury sector will allow us to provide a unique platform to new and fast-growing markets. Russia has clearly emerged as an important art market.”     

The Mercury Group is an automotive and prestige consumer products distributor in Russia. The company also distributes Ferrari and Bentley.  The company imports everything from luxury cars to designer jewelry. Mercury Group represents some of the world’s most exclusive luxury goods brands in Russia, including Armani, Breitling, Chopard, Faberge and Tiffany. Mercury Group is based in Moscow, the Russian Federation.

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