In 2012, after a successful career in the financial industry, Lori Hotz was recruited by Christie’s, to head up the Post War and Contemporary Art department. As Global Managing Director of the firm’s most competitive division, Lori managed an annual P&L of $3B and 140 employees globally, executing 60 live and online auctions per year and $1B in private sales. Lori strengthened the firm’s global capabilities and sharpened its strategic focus to deliver market-shaping results.
In just three years, Lori enhanced the department’s leading position with a 51% overall market share, rising to 61% in the $5 million-plus masterpiece market and record-breaking total sales of $1.6 billion in 2015. Recognized for her financial strategy skills, particularly in emerging markets, Lori significantly increased the activities of the primary (private sales), secondary (auction) and e-commerce businesses in the Americas, Middle East, Asia and Europe.
In an environment where a single work of art can achieve tens of millions of dollars and bespoke collectors set the pace and direction of the market, Lori and her team of renowned art specialists and industry experts spearheaded some of the most important auction results ever recorded, breaking records with more than $1 billion sold in one week for two seasons in a row.
Lori worked in the finance industry for 20 years prior to joining Christie’s. She began her career in Chicago as Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy for Bank One and JP Morgan Chase. She then served as Chief Operating Officer for Lehman Brothers’ alternative and traditional asset management businesses before being appointed Chief Operating Officer of Barclay’s Wealth Americas’ product office where she managed a $54B asset management platform. Prior to being recruited by Christies, she held the position of Chief Operating Officer of Lazard Wealth Management. Lori received a BA from the University of Toronto, and both a master’s degree in Environmental Studies and an MBA from Yale