By Kelly Crow And Sara Germano
Steven Murphy is stepping down as chief executive of Christie's,
less than a month after the art auction house posted record fall
sales and less than two weeks after rival Sotheby's said it would
oust its top executive.
Mr. Murphy, who took the helm of London-based Christie's in
2010, called the decision to step down "mutual and amenable,"
adding that he wanted to go out "on a high note."
"Christie's is at the top of its game, and I'm proud of what
we've accomplished," Mr. Murphy said.
Mr. Murphy, a former publishing and music executive, will be
succeeded by Patricia Barbizet, Christie's chairman and a longtime
lieutenant of the auction house's owner, François Pinault.
Ms. Barbizet has worked for Mr. Pinault since 1989, first as
chief financial officer, and later as managing director, of Groupe
Artemis, the Pinault family's investment firm. She is vice
chairwoman of the board of Kering SA, the luxury-goods company led
by Mr. Pinault's son, François-Henri Pinault, and is on the board
of several of the company's brands, including Gucci and Yves Saint
Laurent.
A representative of Artemis said Ms. Barbizet wasn't available
for comment.
She is expected to take the helm at the end of the year, at
which point Mr. Murphy will step down, said Christie's spokeswoman
Jennifer Ferguson. The spokeswoman said the next few weeks will
serve as a transition period.
Mr. Murphy's departure, which took the art world by surprise,
follows a wave of eye-popping sales. Between Christie's and
Sotheby's, November auction sales totaled more than $2 billion this
year, including Christie's record for the biggest auction in
history, with $853 million of contemporary art sold in a mere
two-hour span.
Mr. Murphy, who hails from New York, was considered an outsider
in the elite art world. He said for now he plans to stay in London,
where his family lives, but didn't elaborate on what his next move
might be.
He did say, however, that he wasn't headed for rival Sotheby's,
where a search for a successor to CEO William Ruprecht is currently
under way.
Some industry insiders said that while Mr. Murphy was lauded for
his sales successes, there has been increasing frustration within
Christie's about a focus on taking market share from Sotheby's,
often at the expense of Christie's profit. Since it is privately
held, the company doesn't release profit figures, but financial
analysts say the company's costs have risen as it pushed into
mainland China, established a salesroom presence in Mumbai and
expanded online sales.
Mr. Murphy didn't put the house through the same kind of
cost-cutting and staff cuts that Sotheby's has undergone over the
past year. "There is a strong sense that with the kinds of deals
taking place, that Christie's was being very aggressive. They have
been very generous with clients, and sometimes that doesn't lead to
the best bottom-line results, " said Michael Plummer, a co-founder
and principal with Artvest Partners LLC, and a former chief
operating officer of Christie's Financial Services.
Less than two weeks ago, Sotheby's announced that Mr. Ruprecht,
its longtime CEO, would step down from his post after 14 years.
Sotheby's has had a turbulent year, hit with criticism from
activist hedge-fund manager Daniel Loeb, who ultimately won a seat
on the auction house's board, which voted for Mr. Ruprecht's
departure. The company, which is publicly held, has been working to
trim in-house costs and had made a round of layoffs earlier this
summer.
Before taking over at Christie's, Mr. Murphy was the chief
executive of Rodale Inc., a publishing group known for magazines
like "Men's Health, " "Runner's World," and "Prevention." Before
that, he managed Walt Disney Co.'s publishing arm and had spent
nearly eight years as the president of British record label EMI
Music/Angel Records.
Ms. Barbizet is described a shrewd businesswoman with an eye for
finance. She's "not good at the warm and fuzzies, and in the art
business you need that charm offensive," according to a person who
has worked with her.
News of Mr. Murphy's departure came as a surprise to even some
of the auction house's top dealers. When asked about the
resignation Tuesday afternoon, one Christie's staffer said, "surely
you mean the Sotheby's CEO?"
Artvest's Mr. Plummer said that in his 35 years working in the
art world, it was unprecedented to have executive shake-ups at both
Christie's and Sotheby's simultaneously.
Jason Chow contributed to this article.
Write to Kelly Crow at kelly.crow@wsj.com and Sara Germano at
sara.germano@wsj.com
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