Auction house Sotheby’s has appointed George Lacey as its new Head of Wine for Asia, replacing Paul Wong, it has announced in a press release.
As part of Sotheby’s greater global business integration, Lacey has relocated from Sotheby’s London to Hong Kong to take on the new role as Asia continues to drive the market for Wine and Spirits with 50% of global sales.
Lacey oversaw the first consecutive ‘white glove’ (100% sold) wine sales in London for more than five years, spearheaded a six-fold increase in the number of single-owner sale offerings, and developed a focused program of direct-from-producer auctions, including direct auctions from the historic cellars of more than three leading Bordeaux Châteaux, in two different partnerships with CHANEL and the Cazes family, as well as exclusive direct releases from Super-Tuscan Tenuta San Guido (Sassicaia), rising Rheingau star Eva Fricke and from the cellars of Paul Jaboulet Aîné to celebrate their 100th anniversary.
Meanwhile, Paul Wong will assume a new role as Head of Department, Wine & Spirits, China, to further develop the local clientele and to eventually establish local wine & spirits auctions as part of Sotheby’s cross-channel China strategy.
Other important appointments also include the appointment of Jane Yoon as Sotheby’s Managing Director, South Korea and Apple Charnsethukul as Head of Sotheby’s Thailand.
According to the auction, the personnel changes are part of Sotheby’s pan-Asia strategy. This month marked Sotheby’s return to the China International Import Expo (CIIE), a major platform for fostering art and culture collecting experience to the local community with a space five times larger than last year.
This commitment will continue with further initiatives to come in Greater China next month and into 2023, including the launch of Sotheby’s new Mainland China Headquarters in Shanghai, which boasts a large showcasing space alongside its office, and a magnificent view of the Suzhou River waterfront that runs through the heart of the city.
In Southeast Asia, this summer saw the company’s first ever non-selling exhibition in Vietnam which saw attendance from over 4,000 visitors; the staging of Sotheby’s first auction in Singapore in fifteen years; the move of its Tokyo office space to the heart of the city’s contemporary art scene.
Sotheby’s broadening of its activities across the region tallies with its approach of meeting collectors wherever they are, and taking business beyond the traditional centers, the model for which has been in motion for some time.
