LONDON.- Bonhams, the international auction house, announces the appointment of Bruno Vinciguerra as Executive Chairman with immediate effect. Vinciguerra will be based in the company’s New York headquarters on Madison Avenue, and will lead operations globally.

Bruno Vinciguerra said: “I am delighted to be joining Bonhams. I am passionate about this fascinating business, and couldn’t resist the opportunity to lead one of the original Georgian London auction houses which now has global reach across a wide-range of collecting categories. With the arrival of Epiris, an ambitious shareholder that is committed to growth, we have the chance to build on the success of the past, and to secure Bonhams’ unique place in the auction world.”

Bonhams Global Chief Executive Matthew Girling added, “It is a great pleasure and privilege to welcome Bruno to Bonhams. He has operated at the highest level for some of the world’s leading brands and his in-depth experience of the auction business, in particular, will prove invaluable to Bonhams.”

Vinciguerra – who holds dual French-American citizenship – has led businesses in Consumer, Luxury and Technology industries with multibillion dollar sales and spanning territories across the world. A partner at Bain and Co from 1986-1997, and a Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning of Walt Disney Company in Los Angeles until 2000, Vinciguerra had an executive role at Dell for six years, before joining Sotheby’s in New York in 2007 as Chief Operating Officer.

As COO, Vinciguerra was responsible for the global P&L and the management of the worldwide organization. His influence on complex deals, auction sales and staff around the world was instrumental in Sotheby’s return to all-time high levels of profitability after 2009. Vinciguerra also played a major role in Sotheby’s expansion in Beijing, making the company the first international fine art auction house in mainland China, and in the development of the company’s digital initiatives.

Since 2015, Vinciguerra has been advising Private Equity funds, start-up companies and non-profit organizations in their global development and has been an active board member and investor in private companies in the US and Europe.