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There’s a flurry of movement among some of the top seats in the trade right now. After two years of a market contraction, art firms are scrambling to figure out how to get back in the black and bringing fresh talent into their C-suites. That’s especially evident at the auction houses: two of the big three have brought in new leadership in the last month.

On Wednesday, the world’s leading firm, Christie’s, named Bonnie Brennan CEO. She succeeds Guillaume Cerutti, who has led the company for eight years. Cerutti will become president of the Pinault Collection, the expansive art holdings of Christie’s owner François Pinault, while remaining on as the house’s chairman. Brennan, who joined Christie’s in 2012, has risen through the ranks and serving in various leadership roles. Since 2021, she’s been the president of the Americas, which accounted for 48 percent of all auction sales in 2024.

Bonnie Brennan and Guillaume Cerutti. Courtesy: Christie’s

Last month, Phillips appointed art lawyer and British Art Market Federation chair Martin Wilson as its head exec, saying that auction veteran Ed Dolman would be stepping down from the job, along with his deputy, Amanda Lo Iacono, after less than a year in their roles.

Charles Stewart remains CEO at Sotheby’s, but the auction house has been going through its fair share of restructuring in recent weeks. It has laid off 100, shuttered a few regional outposts, and has quietly made some high-level management shifts.

Last Friday, my colleague Vivienne Chow revealed that the house has tapped veteran luxury exec Masumi Shinohara as its new managing director for Asia; a former luxury exec, he had been head of Japan for the auction firm for a little under a year.

That means that Nathan Drahi—son of Sotheby’s majority owner, Patrick Drahi—who had held the position since 2021, is out. Several sources familiar with the company said that the young Drahi will be relocating to the house’s New York headquarters, but it is unclear what his new position will be. Sotheby’s did not respond to a request for comment.

Left: Alexie Glass-Kantor. Right: Dunja Gottweis. Photos courtesy Art Dubai Group.

It’s not just the auction houses. On Thursday, Art Dubai Group filled two senior positions with former Art Basel stalwarts. Alexie Glass-Kantor, most recently executive director of Artspace in Sydney, will take on the newly created role of curatorial executive director for the group. Last summer, in a surprise move, she stepped down from Artspace and her post as curator of Art Basel Hong Kong’s Encounters section, which she has organized since 2015; this year’s will be her last. Meanwhile, Dunja Gottweis, Art Basel’s former global head of gallery relations, will become the director of the Art Dubai fair.

There are no doubt more shifts to come, as everyone worries about being left without a chair when the music stops. Now, back to wondering who will take Glen Lowry’s seat at MoMA…