LONDON.- Bonhams announced the appointment and promotion of John Baddeley to the position of Managing Director, Knightsbridge – the busiest of the company’s UK and international salerooms. He takes on this new role with immediate effect.

“John has an outstanding track record in the auction business. His career as both a dealer and auctioneer spans over 30 years,” says Matthew Girling, Chief Executive Officer, Bonhams UK & Europe. “His sound business acumen, specialist knowledge and proven ability to get the best from people make John the obvious person to run our Knightsbridge saleroom.”

John Baddeley, who continues to be responsible for collectors’ sales worldwide, says: “I am excited about the prospect of taking on the challenge of being Managing Director, Knightsbridge. My ambition is not only to substantially grow the core business of jewellery, silver, paintings, furniture & works of art, but also to make Knightsbridge the centre of excellence for our specialist sales of portrait miniatures, arms & armour, sporting guns, coins & medals, science & technology, toys & dolls, and entertainment memorabilia.”

John began his career at Sotheby’s Belgravia in the early 1970s. He joined as a porter, but quickly rose through the ranks to become Head of the Collectors’ department and auctioneer by the age of 25. Subsequently, he left the company to become an independent dealer in decorative arts for the next five years. However, missing the thrill of the auction world, he rejoined Sotheby’s in the early 1980s and remained there for the following 20 years, finally becoming Group Head and Board Director of Sotheby’s, London.

In 2003, John joined Bonhams as Global Director of Collectors’ sales and over the following seven years has been responsible for many landmark auctions and world record prices. Highlights include: the British Airways Concorde auction, the Admiral Nelson Bicentenary sale, John Lennon’ lyrics for Give Peace A Chance, Judy Garland’s dress that she wore as Dorothy in the film The Wizard of Oz, props from the BBC’s Dr Who television programme, a 14th century English astrolabe quadrant (now in the British Museum), the Michael Bennett-Levy Collection of Early Technology, Peter Golding Collection of Rock Art, and The Ward Collection of Musical Snuff Boxes.

An auctioneer, author and broadcaster, John is also known to millions of people as a specialist on the BBC’s long-running television programme The Antiques Roadshow, on which he has made regular appearances since it began in 1977.