Guillaume Cerutti (58 years old), lengthens his CV a little further. After 8 years at the head of Christie’s, he is leaving the executive management of the auction house to become president of the Pinault Collection as of February 1. However, he will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Christie’s, with the main role of defining the broad strategic lines of the company, while being its ambassador.
He is replaced by Bonnie Brennan, who joined Christie’s in 2012 (after 15 years at Sotheby’s) and regional president of the Americas since 2021.
“The Pinault family, with whom I work very closely, offered me this opportunity to continue working with them at a different level, by taking on another role. It’s my life. I am really passionate about art, about artists. Besides, it’s good for a company to see someone else arrive”explained the future president during a press conference yesterday afternoon.
“We decided to give him a broader role, supervising all art-related projects within our entities under our direct authority”declared François Pinault and François-Henri Pinault. Guillaume Cerutti will have to set up a new organization for the artistic and cultural activities of their holding company, Artémis. “When I take up my duties, new projects will come into play but for the moment, I cannot say more”he clarified. Artemis, the holding company of the Pinault family, notably owns Christie’s, the Pinault Collection, the Ponant cruise line, the magazine The Point. It is chaired by François-Henri Pinault.
After starting a career in the civil service as a financial inspector, Guillaume Cerutti served as director general of the Center Pompidou (1996-2001), before becoming director of the cabinet of Jean-Jacques Aillagon, then minister of Culture (2002-2004) to finally join the world of auctions – first at Sotheby’s in 2007, then since 2016 at Christie’s.
The Pinault collection, one of the largest collections of contemporary art and one of the most prestigious in the world, includes more than 10,000 works, spread across three sites: the Bourse de Commerce in Paris, and the Punta della Dogana and the Palazzo Grassi, in Venice. If Christie’s and the Pinault collection are two independent entities, they may collaborate in the future – an exhibition of works from the collection was planned in Los Angeles but due to the fires, it was canceled.
The Bourse de Commerce in March 2020
© Photo Marc Dommage / Pinault Collection. © Tadao Ando Architect & Associates, NeM/Niney & Marca Architectes, Agence Pierre-Antoine Gatier, Setec Bâtiment.