Christie's expands global wine sales team

Christie’s is expanding its global wine sales team to keep up with its 70% boom in wine sales since 2009.

Simon Tam will join the Hong Kong office as head of wine in China while Robin Kelley O’Connor will come on board in New York as head of wine, Americas.

David Elswood, international head of wine, said: “At Christie’s, we have witnessed an impressive 70% increase in our wine sales between 2009 and 2010. Against the backdrop of this encouraging market development, these appointments reflect our commitment to bringing the best of fine and rare wines to an even larger group of collectors worldwide, and to maintaining our leading position as the industry benchmark.”

Heather Barnhart, international business director for wine, added: “Wine sales play a crucial role in Christie’s global strategy as a business stream and key driver for client acquisition and retention. We plan to add more resources in key areas including client servicing, specialists and administration, to build up the largest wine team among international auction houses.”