Nick Pegna, the former head of Berry Bros & Rudd Asia, has been appointed as Sotheby’s Global Head of Wine & Spirits, based in London effective in August, succeeding Jaimie Ritchie.
With 30 years of experience in establishing, leading, and managing wine & spirits businesses worldwide, while working directly with producers and distillers, Pegna will succeed Jaime Ritchie, who joined start-up BlockBar in July as its COO.
During his 23-year tenure at Berry Bros. & Rudd, Pegna operated the global sales fine wine teams, set up and ran Asian businesses in Hong Kong and Singapore, and from 2016 onwards, led their Wine & Spirits business across the whole of Asia.
Pegna’s experience spans fine wine retail, wholesale, private and corporate sales, as well as fine wine trading and spirits distribution across Europe and Asia. Most recently, he acted as managing director of his own fine wine private client brokerage and advisory firm after leaving Berry Bros & Rudd in 2021.
Together with the talented and passionate global wine & spirits team already in place, he is tasked to expand on the market opportunities and chart a clear strategy and vision for accelerating Sotheby’s Wine & Spirits growth globally.
In addition to Pegna’s appointment, Sotheby’s also announced a few other key appointments: Jonny Fowle has been appointed Global Head of Spirits and will continue to accelerate the spirits business in all parts of the world; Alexandria Cubbage will assume the role of Head of Major Collections, Americas; Richard Young is appointed to Head of Auction Sales, Finest and Rarest Wines, Americas; Lukas Dempsey has taken a new role based in Los Angeles as Specialist, West Coast.
In addition, new talent has been added to the team globally with the appointment of a dedicated Asia Spirits Specialist, and retail store manages in Zurich and New York, who will all drive the growth agenda in new markets and expand retail capabilities.
“I am thrilled to welcome Nick to Sotheby’s. With over 30 years of experience across the wine & spirits industry worldwide, Nick furthers Sotheby’s commitment to fostering market leading expertise and knowledge. He joins us during an exponential period of growth in our Luxury division, and I look forward to seeing the next chapter of this dynamic category unfold under his leadership,”said Josh Pullan, Head of Sotheby’s Global Luxury Division.
“I am delighted to be joining such an historic business and a results-driven team to continue building on a solid legacy of market leadership and expertise. I look forward to working with the global team during an exciting time for the wine & spirits market internationally,” adds Nick Pegna, Global Head of Sotheby’s Wine & Spirits.
