September 20, 2010 was officially announced that Edward Dolman, who has long served as chief executive officer, appointed to the post of president of the international company Christie's, and it will be replaced by Steven Pleshette Murphy.

Patricia Barbize, president of Artémis, which owns the auction house Christie's: «Throughout her work in Christie's as Chief Executive Officer Ed showed excellent leadership qualities. Under his leadership, the auction house went through a period of fruitful change and rapid growth. Such experience will no doubt help Ed in his new post, because now his main job will be the prerogative of business development. With the appointment of Stephen's chief executive officer manager of the auction house will be strengthened, which will allow Christie's to improve their market ».

Until now, Mr. Murphy worked in various structures of the media industry, and most recently headed the American publishing house Rodale Inc.

Regarding his new appointment, Edward Dolman said: "I am honored to lead the company in which I worked for over 26 years. I'll be happy to share their experiences and knowledge with Steven, board members and other colleagues in order to strengthen our business ».

Mr Stephen Murphy said:" I am very flattered that I will work side by side with Mr Dolman and the whole team the auction house. I will try to strengthen the position of Christie's and take the company into new markets ».

As Mr Dolman and Mr Murphy will report directly to the board and Mrs. Barbize. The main emphasis in the activities of Edward Dolman will be on business development and customer service, while Stephen Murphy will focus on strategic aspects and the implementation of the functions of general management of all divisions of Christie's.

Mr. Murphy led the Rodale Inc company since 2000. Prior to that, since 1998, he served as executive vice president and managing director of publisher Disney Worldwide. In addition, from 1991 to 1998 he worked in a managerial position in one of the units of record company EMI Music /Angel Records, and from 1985 to 1991 - published by Simon & Schuster. Mr Murphy graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in English literature ».

Edward Dolman was appointed chief executive officer of Christie's in 1999. His responsibilities included strategic business development and expansion of the presence of auction houses internationally. Under his leadership, Christie's has undergone several significant changes, which resulted in the arsenal of the auction house appeared advanced technologies have been implemented a new strategic decision, and was greatly expanded customer base. Mr Dolman will continue to play a key role in attraction at the auction of outstanding works of art, as in the past, his efforts in this direction have led to the most memorable auction sales in history, will strengthen the position of Christie's as a leader in the art market.

Edward Dolman of Christie's works more than 26 years before the appointment in 1999, also served as director of branches in the U.S. and Amsterdam. He joined Christie's in 1984 as a specialist in European furniture department, then became director and head of the department.

On Artémis

Artémis is a holding company owned by Pinault family and owns a number of other assets. The company has a controlling stake in PPR Group, and also owns the auction house Christie's vineyards and Chateau Latour. In addition, it owns shares of construction company Vinci.

Source : Press Release Christie's