Julia Halperin 

Julia Halperin is an experienced arts and culture journalist and the cofounder of the Burns Halperin Report, the largest report of its kind tracking equity and representation in the art world. From 2017 to 2022, she was executive editor of Artnet News, where she oversaw editorial operations for the world’s most widely read art news site and managed a staff of editors and writers in London, Berlin, and New York. Before that, she served as museums editor of The Art Newspaper and as news editor of Art + Auction magazine. Her writing has appeared in WIRED magazine, the New York Observer, and New York magazine and her reporting has been cited by the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Financial Times.

Laura Lupton  

Laura Lupton is an art and climate consultant and the co-founder of several collaborative ventures at the intersection of art and climate: Galleries Commit, Artists Commit, Barder, and the Visual Arts PACT. With over a decade of experience working directly with some of contemporary art’s leading galleries, museums and artist studios to produce large scale projects, Laura has a robust inside knowledge of what it takes to catalyze action from within. Projects she has been part of have been presented by Creative Time, MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Venice Biennial, Tate Modern, and The Shed, among others. She consults on a variety of projects in the art sector.tor to help teams better understand a project's climate impact and is the Director of Strategy at Art into Acres.  

Maureen Bray  

Maureen Bray is the Executive Director of the Art Dealers Association of America, the leading nonprofit membership organization of fine art galleries across the United States. With more than twenty-five years of experience in the art world, Bray oversees the ADAA’s programming (including its annual art fair, The Art Show) and advocacy on behalf of art dealers and the broader industry. During her tenure, she has significantly expanded the educational resources available to ADAA members; spearheaded a dynamic legislative outreach to represent fine art small businesses in Washington, D.C., with a focus on recent tax and regulatory legislation; created new digital initiatives to support members throughout the U.S.; and developed the organization’s collaborative engagement with other arts and culture associations, both domestically and abroad. During the pandemic, Bray also focused on a series of initiatives designed to help galleries economically so that they could remain the cultural anchors of their communities, in New York and elsewhere.

Sayuri Ganepola  

Sayuri Ganepola is the Global Managing Director of Christie’s Art Finance and the Co-Chairman of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion for the Americas. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania and earning her MBA at the Darden School at University of Virginia, Sayuri gained extensive experience in wealth management, structured finance and investment banking at Merrill Lynch, Standard and Poor’s and Lehman Brothers before completing a master’s degree from Christie’s Education. During her Christie’s career she has held numerous leadership positions, building on her finance acumen and strong knowledge of the art and capital markets. Prior to her current role, she was the Head of Client Strategy for the Americas. 

Rebecca Fine 

Rebecca Fine manages Athena Art Finance (a portfolio company of the Carlyle Group that was acquired by Yieldstreet in 2019). As head of Yieldstreet’s Art Platform, Rebecca also manages the art debt and art equity funds. Prior to founding Athena Art Finance in 2015, Rebecca provided legal advice to world-renowned art galleries, museums, foundations, and private collectors at an art law boutique. There, Rebecca litigated cases involving title, authenticity, attribution claims and art restitution cases. Rebecca was previously a commercial litigator and trial lawyer at the law firms of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Wilmer Hale, LLP. Fluent in French and Italian, she often acted as liaison counsel to corporations and ultra-high net worth individuals in multijurisdictional matters. Rebecca graduated from Columbia College and received her J.D. from Columbia University School of Law, where she was an editor of the VLA Journal of Law and the Arts.

Ruofei Xiang

Ruofei Xiang is a seasoned attorney whose practice focuses on employment law and commercial litigation. As part of her employment law practice, Ruofei advises corporate clients on a variety of labor and employment issues. She counsels employers on the implementation of compliant employment policies and preventative practices. She routinely drafts employment agreements, offer letters, restrictive covenants, termination and severance agreements, and employment handbooks. Ruofei conducts management and employee training on the prevention of sexual harassment and discrimination, workplace investigations, and best employment practices. Ruofei has represented employers in state and federal courts on claims involving discrimination and retaliation under Title VII, the ADEA, and corresponding state and local statutes on the basis of sex, age, race, domestic violence victim status, and other protected classes. She also defends clients in lawsuits arising under the Americans with Disabilities Act and related New York State and New York City disability access laws.

In Ruofei’s commercial litigation practice, she works on diverse portfolios with domestic and foreign clientele involving contract disputes, business torts, trade credit insurance, and multi-million dollar commercial obligations. Ruofei represents companies and individuals in federal and state actions on claims sounding in breach of contract, breach of warranty, fraud, tortious interference with contract, breach of fiduciary duty, misappropriation of trade secrets, and RICO violations. Ruofei is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, which allows her to offer a distinct set of skills in the representation of Chinese-speaking clients doing business in the US, as well as US-based companies expanding into the Asian market.

Jake Burgess

Jake Burgess has worked in the Fine Art & Specie insurance sector for 9 years, working predominantly in the Lloyd’s market, in both the claims and underwriting functions. He very recently emigrated to New York to work for AXA’s Fine Art & Specie team in the Americas, where he currently holds the role of Underwriting Manager for the West Zone Fine Art and US Specie portfolios. 

Rebecca Zaretsky

Rebecca Zaretsky Rebecca Zaretsky is the Director of HR at David Zwirner since 2019. Prior to her time at David Zwirner, she formed and led the HR department at Gagosian for 11 years - with a combined 15 years of leading in HR in the gallery realm, and 7 years prior in other industries, Rebecca has over 20 years of HR experience! She has both a Bachelors and Masters degree in Sociology and was proudly educated in the New York public university system (SUNY/CUNY.) Rebecca holds a certificate in DEI for HR, and is enrolled in an ICF Leadership Coaching Certification program with Rutgers University beginning this summer. In her spare time, she is raising a very funny/cool 13 year old boy, and loves to cook and rollerskate! 

Tim Schneider

Tim Schneider is Art Business Editor for Artnet News, co-producer of the Artnet News podcast the Art Angle, and writer of the conversation-starting industry-analysis column the Gray Market. His work draws from a decade-long career in the gallery sector and research into economics, technology, data analysis, and related subjects. He has lectured or participated in panel discussions at Art Basel’s Conversations series, the Talking Galleries symposium, the Art Business Conference, and numerous arts nonprofits and universities in the US. In 2017, he published his first book, The Great Reframing: How Technology Will – and Won’t – Change the Gallery System Forever.

Liz Bloomfield

Liz Bloomfield specializes in financial planning and management for creative businesses. In her current capacity as Managing Director of Marianne Boesky Gallery, Liz oversees all aspects of finance, operations, human resources, and planning. She has over fifteen years of experience in management, accounting, and consulting for arts and entertainment businesses in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. Before joining the Gallery in 2014, she held similar roles at a film distribution company, boutique arts consulting firm, and New York Foundation for the Arts. Liz has an MBA from New York University.

Brenden Beu

Beginning with his BA in Electro-Acoustic Music Composition from San Diego State University where he was one of the founding members of the major, Brenden Beu has been working for nearly two decades at the place where humans and machines interact. Early involvement in organizations like the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS) and the New West Electro-Acoustic Music Organization (NWEAMO) providing him with insight into cutting edge human/machine interface. 

Having worked with musicians and artists to define advanced technological solutions to creative challenges, he has taken a similar approach to the use of technology for business challenges. Brenden was an early member of Control Group, the company behind LinkNYC which was acquired to form Intersection under Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs. With Control Group he worked with a wide range of organizations including The ACLU, The Edward M Kennedy Institute for the US Senate, Neue Gallerie, Callen Lorde Community Health Center, David Zwirner and Gagosian Gallery, consulting on technology and business practices. Brenden co-founded Intersection’s air travel innovation practice before moving on to international business leadership for a number of digital product startups and most recently joining Synergy Associates. Over his decade in the field, Brenden has been involved with innovation initiatives to support and transform business operations, activate physical spaces and engage the public in new and novel ways, leveraging technologies such as conversational interfaces and natural language processing; advanced indoor positioning, mapping and routing; reactive video installations; and journey curation.

Angelina Giovani

Angelina Giovani-Agha is an art historian and provenance researcher based in London. She has a BA in Art History from the American College of Greece and a MA in Art Appraisal from Kingston University, London. She is a graduate of ARCA, as well as of the Provenance Research Training Program (PRTP) workshops. In the past decade she has worked for the Jeu de Paume database documenting the Cultural Plunder by the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR), acted as Head of Provenance Research for a bespoke Family Office Art Advisory and advised with institutions on ethical collecting guidelines. She works with private collectors, museums and the art trade to address provenance issues, while simultaneously acting as an Art Business Mentor for Finito. In 2020, Angelina was appointed as a Provenance Research Specialist at CAfA - Court of Arbitration for Art, Hague and in 2022 she launched the Collections Provenance Rating, an innovative tool that assesses the state of documentation collections and offers recommendations based on the risk level identified.  She is currently working on her first book on the life and work of British artist Christopher Bledowski. angie@flynngiovani.com

Heath Lowndes

Heath Lowndes is co-founder and Managing Director of the Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC), which he has run since its launch in 2020. GCC is an international charity and membership organisation set up to provide sector-specific resources and guidelines for environmental responsibility. 

Cat Manson

Cat Manson served as Global Head of Communications and Corporate Affairs at Christie’s until 2020. She worked with five Chief Executives over 25 years and was one of the youngest women to be appointed a Senior Director at the auction house.  Co-Founder of the Women’s Network, Cat has long campaigned for better access, equality and talent retention. She led two task forces in 2007 and again in 2019, focused on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion whose recommendations resulted in the introduction of significantly improved global support policies at the company. 

In 2020, Cat co-founded of Art Market Mentors, a global cross-industry mentoring program promoting support and access in the commercial art world. To date, the mentoring scheme has engaged with over 5,000 individuals and matched nearly 500 mentoring partnerships over three years.

Cat also has a Masters in Renaissance Studies from the Courtauld and helps lead short-break cultural trips.  In September 2023, Cat will launch a new format Art Retreat to Tuscany offering a combination of executive coaching and artistic adventure. Artemisia & Tailor Made Trips | Art History Abroad

Marty Ross 

Marty Ross is Chief Operating Officer of Gallagher’s Cyber Liability Practice, responsible for the overall operation of the National Sales Team and strategic initiatives.  Prior to joining Gallagher, Marty spent more than 6 years with Aon in a number of leadership positions – most recently acting as the SVP, Commercial Officer over the Eastern Region for Aon’s Cyber Solution team.  In this role, he identified and protected clients’ critical assets by aligning cyber security strategy. Earlier in his tenure with Aon, he was the Managing Director and Team Leader for the Aon Global Risk Consulting Americas-Business Development team, where he represented Risk Consulting, Risk Control & Claims, and Captive Insurance Management. Before his time with Aon, he was the National Director of Business Development and Cyber for Dempsey Partners LLC (later acquired by Aon).

James Carroll

James Carroll is a penetration tester, information security engineer, "ethical hacker" and Co-Founder of Hacket Cyber. James has extensive experience in breaking security defenses and locating sensitive information inside corporate networks, and exfiltrating that data in ways that are hard for normal security defenses to recognize. James has worked with Fortune 100 organizations, professional sports teams, large publicly traded companies and some of the leading security software vendors with the goal of breaking in, stealing data, and working with the client to further secure the holes that were exploited.

John C. Cleary 

John Cleary’s practice focuses on serving the Litigation and Technology Transaction and Data Privacy needs of U.S. companies, with an emphasis on data security incidents and other cyber-related losses and controversies.

John brings his litigation and dispute resolution skills to bear on problems faced by clients across an array of settings, principally in the areas of cybersecurity, class action defense, intellectual property, insurance, bankingand maritime law. John previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., representing U.S. government agencies and officials across a range of constitutional and other federal sector issues.

Lexy Schmertz 

Lexy Schmertz is a Senior Advisor at Christie's Ventures, focusing on Web3 investment opportunities thatwill change the future of the art market ecosystem. She has been at Christie's for almost a decade, developing strategic partnerships with creators and brands.  Lexy has been integral in producing Christie’s Art+Tech Summits and reinforcing Christie’s role leading the dialogue around art and technology. Lexy’s career began in finance at Goldman Sachs and the New York City Investment Fund. She later worked at the Financial Times Tokyo, covering the emerging Internet and related tech developments, and as an online editor at Condé Nast. She went on to become CMO and Head of Business Development for the e-commerce fashion start-up Moda Operandi. Lexy has an A.B. in History and a Certificate in European Cultural Studies from Princeton University and an MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth.

Joe Elliott 

Joe Elliott is the Co Managing Director & CCO of global art tech business, Artlogic.

For the past decade, Joe has been helping galleries, artists and collectors to embrace technology in a way that enhances the management, sales and overall interaction with art, both in person and online. Having begun his career working for commercial galleries in New York, Joe moved into the world of art tech, working for the start-up Collectirum prior to joining Artlogic in 2012. He holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MA in Visual Arts Administration from New York University.

Rosie Allan  

Rosie Allan is Managing Director of Sophie Macpherson Ltd.

 SML is the global market leader in art recruitment. With over 20 years’ experience, we have an established track record of strengthening businesses and placing candidates who shape the international art market. Rosie joined SML in 2013, and, following four years placing candidates in UK and European art businesses, was promoted to Director. Since then, she has been responsible for growing SML’s team and service offering, spending time in New York, Hong Kong, and Los Angeles, and opening offices in New York and Los Angeles. SML partners with art businesses to build specialist teams across the art market globally. 

Anita Ragusa  

Anita Ragusa is a fine art HR consultant and artist with over 15 years of experience at global galleries and auction houses, such as Gagosian, David Zwirner, Pace, and Bonhams. Her experience includes attracting, motivating, and retaining talent, designing compensation and benefits packages, developing succession plans and career paths, ensuring multi-state compliance, and facilitating international expansion. She holds a BFA from The Cooper Union School of Art in New York and a Bachelor's degree in Biology from St. John’s University, also in New York.

Aside from her HR consultancy work, she maintains a commission-based painting practice out of her studio in NYC. Her work is held in multiple private collections and is currently on display at the Saint Kate Arts Hotel in Wisconsin as part of their permanent exhibition. She is also an avid amateur mycologist and enjoys spending time in her Catskills garden with her dog, Jams.

Ted MacLean

Ted MacLean is Executive Vice President, Global Head of Crozier Fine Arts, a company at the forefront of art logistics innovation. MacLean previously directed Iron Mountain’s global Adjacent Business Group, managing specialized luxury business markets within the company's portfolio. Ted joined Iron Mountain in 2014 as Chief Marketing Officer from Microsoft, where he held multiple customer and partner-facing general manager roles, most recently leading growth strategies in emerging markets. He was recruited to Microsoft from his role as CEO of a start-up software firm focused on the insurance underwriting process. Prior to that, he held roles at management consultancies AT Kearney and KPMG, and spent his early career in Japan. He is on the Foundation Board of MassArt, on the Board of Directors at Mott Corporation, Connecticut, and on the Board of Overseers at the Museum of Science, Boston. He also serves as the executive sponsor of HOLA, Iron Mountain’s hispanic Employee Resource Group, in an effort to promote the diversification of the workspace.

Deborah Larrison 

Deborah (Debi) Larrison is a managing director and national art credit executive for Bank of America. Headquartered in NYC, she leads the strategic direction to drive our lending direction to drive our art lending capabilities externally and across multiple channels within the strategic direction to drive our art lending capabilities externally and across multiple channels within Bank of America. As the national art credit executive, Debi partners with the Art Services team to bring Bank of America’s complete suite of art capabilities to collectors, auction houses and centers of influence.

Since joining Bank of America in 2010, Debi’s responsibilities have included providing liquidity solutions for high-net-worth clients in Merrill’s Northeast Division, and working at Bank of America Private Bank, developing and executing business strategies.

Previously, Debi worked at Citigroup, where she led a national team of sell-side middle market investment bankers. She also served as managing director and chief operating officer of Citi Private Bank. In addition, she has held CEO and CFO positions at several privately held companies.

Debi earned a master’s degree in business administration from Monmouth University and a bachelor’s degree from Georgian Court College. She is a graduate of the Securities Industry Institute (SII) Leadership Development Program, the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and currently serves on the institute’s board of trustees. She is a former officer of the board of trustees of Monmouth University.

Edouard Gouin

Edouard Gouin is the CEO and co-founder of Convelio, a leading tech-enabled fine art shipping company. Prior to Convelio, Edouard worked for various tech companies in Berlin. He then went on to build a high-end design marketplace, where he gained first-hand experience of the inefficiencies in shipping highly fragile and valuable works. Edouard holds degrees from Bocconi University and IE Business School. He was recognized as the lvy award winner for best young tech leader in June 2021 and listed in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and Apollo 40 under 40 Art & Tech for Convelio’s contribution to the Art and Culture industry.

Dustyn Kim

Dustyn Kim is Chief Revenue Officer and oversees Artsy's Marketplace Partners business which encompasses galleries, art fairs, auction houses and institutions. She is responsible for developing strategies to grow the marketplace, formulating operating plans and budgets, and leading teams across sales, partner relations, marketing, and operations.