In another leadership reshuffle, Phillips named Martin Wilson as the company’s new CEO, replacing Ed Dolman, who last year served as CEO and executive The dual role of chairman will now leave the company after a decade. Wilson previously served as Phillips’ chief legal officer.
The move coincides with the departure of the company’s deputy chief executive, Amanda Lo Iacono, after just one year in the role. Lo Iacono took over the role just last year, when Stephen Brooks, the former CEO of Phillips and a former Christie’s executive, abruptly left the company after more than two years at the auction house.
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Lo Iacono, who has worked at the auction house for a total of eight years, will leave the position at the end of December 2024 to pursue external opportunities.
Dorman will continue as executive chairman until May 2025 before assuming an advisory role. A veteran executive who led Phillips through a period of growth starting in 2014, he was reinstated after Brooks left, combining his current role with the CEO role.
Wilson, a former Christie’s executive, has been involved in promoting the auction house’s major sales and has connections to the collectors behind them, according to a statement.
The shift comes as Phillips, the smallest of the three major auction houses, joins Sotheby’s and Christie’s in facing a challenging economic environment. Auction sales are expected to decline by 25% between 2023 and 2024. Sotheby’s laid off more than 100 employees last week as it undergoes an internal restructuring.
Dorman, who previously led Christie’s and Qatar Museums, is credited with raising Phillips’ global profile, particularly in Asia, and focusing on sales to emerging contemporary artists. (Phillips has not released annual figures starting in 2024.)
“After ten years at Phillips, it is time for me to move on to new pursuits and explore new ways of engaging with the art world. Over the course of these ten years, I have had the privilege of working with a world-class team to expand Philips’ impact , and achieved extraordinary record-breaking sales in new locations around the world,” Dorman said in a statement.
