Christie’s Names Billionaire François-Henri Pinault Chairman, Signaling End of Tenure for Guillaume Cerutti
Christie’s appointed François-Henri Pinault as board chairman and non-executive director, a move that signals the end of Guillaume Cerutti’s tenure as chairman. François-Henri Pinault, president of Groupe Artémis (Christie’s parent company), is the son of François Pinault, who bought Christie’s in 1998 for $1.2 billion and remains honorary chair; Artémis also controls the Pinault Collection, described as a 10,000-work family collection with museums including the Bourse de Commerce in Paris and Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana in Venice. Cerutti served as Christie’s CEO from 2017 to 2025 and became board chairman in 2023; ARTnews noted Christie’s did not mention his departure in its press release and that his LinkedIn profile lists his chairmanship ending last month. In a statement, François-Henri Pinault said he would focus on strengthening Christie’s expertise in connecting exceptional art and objects with a global audience while continuing to innovate and expand.
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