Jan Prasens Appointed Managing Director of Sotheby's Europe, Including Operations in the Middle East, Russia, India and Africa

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Jun 19, 2017, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, June 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sotheby's (NYSE: BID) is pleased to announce the appointment of Jan Prasens as Managing Director of Sotheby's Europe, including the Company's operations in the Middle East, Russia, India and Africa. While he will be based in London, Jan's responsibilities will extend across each of these regions, where he will lead and develop both Sotheby's activities and staff. A seasoned member of Sotheby's senior management team, Jan has spent the past decade building Sotheby's Financial Services from a small lender focused on supporting auction transactions, to the largest asset-backed lender in the art market today.

June 19, 2017 - Jan Prasens Appointed Managing Director of Sotheby’s Europe, including the Company’s operations in the Middle East, Russia, India and Africa

"While Jan's commercial credentials are impeccable, he also commands a deep understanding of our business and clients," said Tad Smith, Sotheby's CEO. "Over the course of his 20-year career at Sotheby's, he has worked with nearly every single specialist department and built relationships with some of our most important clients, negotiating, along the way, some of the largest consignments in Sotheby's history. I am delighted he is taking on this position where I know he will thrive alongside the exceptional team already on the ground there."

Jan joins a highly experienced leadership team in Europe and complements the expertise and deep client relationships held by Sotheby's outstanding Chairman's Office, with whom he will be working to ensure effective business strategy and development, as well as the best possible service to Sotheby's many clients across Europe, the Middle East, Russia, India and Africa. Among those with whom he will be working particularly closely are: European Chairmen Helena Newman, Oliver Barker, Mario Tavella (France) and Philipp Wurttemberg (Germany), as well as International Chairman, Robin Woodhead, Harry Dalmeny (UK & Ireland), Claudia Dwek (Italy), Caroline Lang (Switzerland), Mark Poltimore (Russia and Scandinavia), Edward Gibbs (Middle East & India) and Jean Fritts (Africa).

Prior to his post leading Sotheby's Financial Services, Jan began his tenure at Sotheby's in the Corporate Finance team, becoming Treasurer in 2006. The following year, he assumed the position of Managing Director of Sotheby's Financial Services where, over the ensuing decade, he has overseen the funding of more than $3 billion in new loans and has seen the loan portfolio balance and operating profit increase by more than four and seven times respectively.

A search is currently underway to identify and recruit new leadership for Sotheby's Financial Services. In the interim, Jan will continue to oversee the management of that business and will act in a senior oversight role thereafter.

About Sotheby's

Sotheby's has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744. Sotheby's became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), India (1992) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby's presents auctions in 10 different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby's BidNow program allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids from anywhere in the world. Sotheby's offers collectors the resources of Sotheby's Financial Services, the world's only full-service art financing company, as well as the collection advisory services of its subsidiary, Art Agency, Partners. Sotheby's presents private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby's Global Fine Art Division, and two retail businesses, Sotheby's Diamonds and Sotheby's Wine. Sotheby's has a global network of 80 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).