Julia Halperin 

Julia Halperin is an arts and culture journalist, editor, and co-founder of the Burns Halperin Report, the largest report of its kind tracking equity and representation in the art world. She is a contributor to the New York Times, W magazine, and the Financial Times, among other publications. She also serves as editor at large of CULTURED magazine and a contributing editor to The Art Newspaper, where she writes a column about changes and challenges in American art museums. From 2017 to 2022, she was executive editor of ArtnetNews. Her writing has appeared in the New Yorker, New York magazine, and WIRED magazine.

Bonnie Brennan is the CEO of Christie’s, effective February 1, 2025. Prior to her appointment, Bonnie held several leadership positions at Christie’s, including Regional President for the Americas. Christie’s has sold seven of the top 10 collections ever sold, four of which were offered in New York during Bonnie’s tenure as President: The Paul G. Allen Collection, which totaled over $1.62 billion, the highest collection total of all time; Masterpieces from the S.I. Newhouse Collection; The Collection of Anne H. Bass; and The Collection of Thomas and Doris Ammann. Also during her tenure, annual sales in the region increased significantly, now representing 48 percent of the brand’s global business as of early 2025. Bonnie led the team on these accomplishments, all while fostering discussions on social, cultural, and environmental matters. Since joining Christie’s in 2012, she has played an instrumental role in several additional iconic collections from Ann and Gordon Getty, Edwin L. Cox and Barney Ebsworth, to name a few.

Bonnie continues to implement a strategy that heavily invests in technology and diversifies its offerings. Since 2021, Christie’s has expanded its online bidding system (81% of all bids at Christie’s are now placed online) and integrated a hybrid TV studio into the live auction room. Additionally, Brennan has played a key role in the diversification of Christie’s offerings, including the launch of Christie’s Ventures, Art Finance, and NFT sales. These efforts continue to attract a younger clientele: Millennial and Gen Z clients now account for 30% of Christie’s buyers. Committed to diversity, Bonnie and her team have set auction records for more than 150 women artists and artists of color and restructured the internship program to be more inclusive.

Bonnie is a graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She began her career in advertising at J. Walter Thompson in 1995 and joined Sotheby’s in 1997, where she stayed until moving to Christie’s 2012. It was at Sotheby’s that she began her focus on estate-related issues and developed deep relationships with clients and their advisors alike.  Outside of the office Bonnie is committed to community service and serves on several non-profit boards, including Academy of the Sacred Heart in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and Calvary Hospital in The Bronx. 

Bridget Finn   

Bridget Finn steers the direction of Art Basel's edition in the Americas, overseeing the team staging the fair, cultivating and expanding Art Basel's network of galleries, collectors, and artists in the Americas, and working in concert with Miami and South Florida's world-class museums, institutions, and cultural partners. Finn has deep knowledge of the gallery ecosystem, an intimate understanding of the North and South American art markets, and an extensive, established network of galleries, collectors, artists, curators, and institutional leaders across the region, within and outside of the traditional hotspots in the US. Before joining the eponymous, Detroit-based gallery Reyes | Finn, she directed the contemporary art program at Mitchell-Innes & Nash (2013-2017) and held several roles at Anton Kern Gallery (2007-2010) in New York. As part of a gallerist collective, she established the collaborative curatorial project space Cleopatra's (2008-2018) in New York, which later operated a Berlin location, working collaboratively with hundreds of artists and cultural producers for a decade. Previously, Finn served as the Director of Strategic Planning & Projects at Independent Curators International (ICI) (2010-2013), where she developed unique projects and formats in partnership with leading galleries, museums, auctions houses, corporations, and philanthropic organizations to deliver contemporary art programs to broad public audiences.

Image credit: Photo by James Jackman for Art Basel

Johannes Vogt   

Johannes Vogt is the Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art at Artnet Auctions. With 20 years of experience in the Contemporary Art World, spanning museum, gallery and auction house tenures, he has a deep understanding of the market, its participants and trends, collecting and selling opportunities, trading on the secondary market, both privately and at auction, collection management and growth, estate considerations, art lending and the importance of return of investment.

Johannes operated his eponymous gallery in New York City for 10 years and has extensive experience in liaising with collectors and advisors as well as artists, galleries, museum professionals, journalists and investors. He holds a master's degree in art history from Munich’s Ludwig-Maximilians-University, has contributed to various publications and authored a monograph on Dan Flavin’s early light sculptures. His manifold background informs his knowledge and expertise in the art industry and its global market.

Hartley Waltman   

Hartley Waltman was appointed Phillips’ General Counsel, Americas, in July 2019. In his role, Hartley oversees responsibility for Phillips’ legal and compliance functions throughout the Americas. He also plays an active role in Phillips’ top client business development and deal-making activities, working closely with the commercial office to create a partnership between specialist departments, the deal room, the commercial office, and the legal department. During his time here, he has been involved in several high-profile consignments, including The Triton Collection Foundation, as well as the sale of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled from the collection of Yusaku Maezawa. He also played an important role in the precedent-setting 2nd Circuit case, JN Contemporary Art LLC v. Phillips Auctioneers LLC. 

Hartley joined Phillips from Christie’s, where he spent twenty years, eventually serving as Senior Vice President and Senior Counsel. Over the course of his tenure, he served as the primary legal counsel and business partner for each of the company’s twenty-five specialist departments. Among his many activities at Christie’s, he was the lead counsel for the sale of the Peggy and David Rockefeller Collection. Prior to this, he was a partner with Foreht Last Waltman & Katz P.C. 

In addition to his role at Phillips, since 2023, Hartley has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Art Law at New York Law School, where he received his own JD. Prior to Law School, Hartley earned his BA Degree in Political Science from the University of Toronto. 

Jacob Hyman   

Jacob Hyman is a co-founder of Amanita, a contemporary art gallery with two locations in New York and additional exhibition spaces across Italy. Before launching Amanita, Jacob spent five years at Gagosian in New York while completing his MA in Art History from Columbia University. Combining a strong academic foundation steeped in art history and theory with hands-on experience in the commercial gallery world, Jacob brings a thoughtful and intentional approach to Amanita’s program, bridging early careers with more established artists and narratives. Amanita has a dynamic program and community that spans across generations of artists, collectors, and greater audience.

Shan (Jessica) Chen   

Shan (Jessica) Chen is an experienced attorney with Mazzola Lindstrom, who possesses over 10 years of legal experience handling international transactions and litigation. Shan’s practice focuses on cross-border commercial litigation and business transactions, international trade and arbitration, fine art law, labor and employment law, and immigration law.  Shan externed for the Honorable Leo M. Gordon in the U.S. Court of International Trade.

Born and raised in China and bilingual in Mandarin and English, Shan possesses in-depth knowledge of the Chinese business culture, which provides her with a natural advantage and unique set of skills for representing China-based companies doing business in the U.S., as well as American businesses exploring the Chinese market and thriving in China.

Shan holds a master’s degree in human resources and industrial relations. With over 18 years of translation and interpretation experience, Shan has served as a certified court interpreter at both federal and state levels providing services to Department of Justice, USCIS, ICE, U.S. District Courts, NYS Unified Court System, District Attorney’s Offices, corporations, law firms, international conferences, and international trade fairs.

Curtis McConnell 

Curtis McConnell has had a long career dedicated to supply chain, logistics, inventory, and fulfillment technologies. In his previous work, he revolutionized and modernized the direct-to-consumer flower and gifting supply chain. Curtis also holds a degree in history and has always had a love for art and cultural heritage, which has made him deeply passionate about the art industry. He is dedicated to protecting art and those who are in the business of art.

To that end, he  holds two U.S. patents and three provisional patents all in art technologies. He has expertise in scientific art authentication processes and is mentored by Maurizio Seracini. Together, six technologies will bring about the transformation of the 21st century art market. We will explore how lessons learned from watershed moments in markets from the 18th Century to today, will kick off the exponential growth of the art market over the next decade. 

Megan Fox Kelly   

Megan Fox Kelly is a leading art advisor with more than 25 years of experience providing curatorial guidance, market intelligence, and museum-quality fine art services to collectors, foundations, attorneys, financial advisors, and estates. A past President of the Association of Professional Art Advisors (APAA), she brings deep expertise in 19th, 20th, and Contemporary art and a foundation in museum practices to every client engagement. Megan is a contributing writer to The Observer and the host of Reading the Art World, a podcast featuring conversations with authors of important new art books.

Since taking on the role of President in 2019, Nick Olney has guided Kasmin through a period of significant succession and expansion. Directing over 40 artists and estates across two Chelsea locations, Olney oversees the full scope of the gallery’s activities including exhibitions, art fairs, offsite programming, and publishing.

In 2023, he co-founded the experimental arts space Meridiano with Boris Vervoordt. Situated on the Oaxacan coast in Puerto Escondido, Mexico, Meridiano offers an open framework for long-form, site-specific, and experimental exhibitions of artwork by artists working internationally and across disciplines. He serves on the American Art Dealers Association board and co-founded the Bartlett H. Hayes Jr Prize in 2022. His background in perception, cognition, and symbolic communication informs his approach to contemporary art.

Katya Kazakina is an award-winning investigative journalist, specializing in the art market. She joined Artnet News in April 2021 as one of the flagship writers for Artnet News Pro, a subscriber-only vertical launched the following month. Previously, she spent nearly 15 years with Bloomberg News, covering arts and culture before narrowing her beat to the art market. 

At Artnet, her weekly column, “The Art Detective,” exposes the inner workings of the opaque art industry. Rooted in investigative reporting, it exposes misuse of power, asymmetry of information, questionable practices, and other pressing topics in the art world. “The Art Detective” uses the art market as a prism through which to analyze broader shifts in the political, economic, and cultural spheres.  

Kazakina was the winner of the Newswomen’s Club of New York’s Front Page Award in the category “Specialized Reporting: Arts” in 2024, 2022 and 2014. She also won the first place in arts business reporting from the Los Angeles Press Club’s National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards in 2024 This year, the Deadline Club chose her as a finalist in arts reporting for the series of “The Art Detective” columns about the downturn in the art market.

She is a contributor to the New York Times, Town & Country Magazine, and Elle Décor.

Lisa Dennison serves as Chairman, Americas, at Sotheby’s, where she focuses on international business development—a role that draws on her considerable strengths as an internationally recognized figure in the fields of Modern & Contemporary Art. Since joining the company in September 2007, she has cultivated deep relationships with major collectors, artists, and experts around the world, playing a critical role in securing top consignments and advising clients globally.

Prior to Sotheby’s, Ms. Dennison had a distinguished 29-year career at the Guggenheim Museum, where she served as Director from 2005. During her tenure, she enhanced the museum’s visibility and reputation while advancing its role as the flagship of a premier global network. Thomas Krens, her predecessor, called her “one of the Guggenheim’s greatest assets.” She organized 35 exhibitions during her time at the museum, including a 1999 retrospective of Francesco Clemente and a major 2005 installation by Daniel Buren in the museum’s iconic atrium.

Tim Schneider  

Tim Schneider is the founder of The Gray Market, the conversation-starting art-industry newsletter, and a private consultant for artists and businesses in the cultural field. Following nearly a decade working in the commercial gallery sector, he spent a combined seven years as the art market editor for The Art Newspaper and the art business editor for Artnet News. His work assesses the art trade through the lenses of economics, technology, data analysis, law, and adjacent markets such as film, music, and fashion. His past speaking engagements range from Art Basel’s Conversations series and the Talking Galleries symposium to lectures at Yale University and the Sotheby’s Institute of Art. In 2017 he published his first book, The Great Reframing: How Technology Will—and Won’t—Change the Gallery System Forever. 

Noah Kupferman  

Noah Kupferman is the Director of Business Development at The Magnusson Art Group. With a professional background in both fine art and finance, Noah offers uncommon ability to create and foster relationships and drive the development of new business opportunities. He began his career at Sotheby's where he trained as a fine art specialist with a focus on Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy. Prior to joining Magnusson Noah spent 10 years at Christie’s where he served as Head of Art Finance, Co-Head of Chinese Works of Art and Director of Christie’s Education. Prior to his work at Christie's, Noah was a Private Banker at US Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management where he managed comprehensive wealth planning and banking solutions for his clients. He is currently on faculty at The Sotheby’s Institute where he teaches courses on the intersection between art and finance.

Noah earned an MBA in Finance from New York University and MA from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Noah holds a BA in Chinese Language and Literature from Oberlin College.

Katherine Degn  

Katherine Degn is the director and owner of Kraushaar Galleries. She is a member of numerous professional organizations and currently serves on the board of the Art Dealers Association of America. Ms. Degn is a specialist in American paintings, drawings, prints, and sculpture of the 20th and 21st centuries. Kraushaar Galleries  primarily exhibits American art, representing artists and estates. 

For over 35 years, Ms. Degn has used her expertise to build private, public and corporate collections, provide appraisal and consulting services related to collection development and management, and advise museums, art consultants and auction houses all over the country. Recent projects include the acquisition and installation of art for the campus of a Fortune 100 company and a market evaluation and sales strategy for a large private collection.

Max Rivera  

Max Rivera is an active angel investor and advisor for early stage tech companies across cultural industries, lending his expertise across commercial strategy, product marketing and globalization. With a background in advertising, Max joined Snapchat at an early stage to launch international business expansion and contributed to the company’s growth through its pre-IPO stage to its current stage as a public company. Today, his team leads Snap’s largest business partnerships and works with the world’s biggest brands and agencies to drive monetization of emerging technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other advertising solutions.

Casey Santangelo  

Casey Santangelo has over 17 years of experience in the fine art insurance industry. She currently serves as the Head of Fine Art & Specie for AXA XL Americas where she leads a team of specialized art underwriters, overseeing the management of complex risks associated with fine art collections, museums, galleries and individual high-net worth assets. With extensive expertise in underwriting and risk management, Casey plays a pivotal role in shaping the strategic direction of the fine art portfolio, ensuring clients receive tailored, innovative solutions to protect their valuable collections.

Marine Tanguy  

At age 21 years old, Marine Tanguy was the youngest gallery manager in Europe when she managed the gallery of Steve Lazarides who discovered Banksy. At 23 years old, she was approached by a US investor to open her first art venture in Los Angeles, De Re Gallery (named after the island she came from in France) on Melrose Avenue. The gallery launched with several celebrities and mega collectors like Demi Moore. It's in Los Angeles that Marine had the idea to build the very first talent agency in the art world, mimicking the top talent agencies like CAA, UTA and WME. Marine launched Certified B Corporation, MTArt Agency in London, in 2015, when she was 25 years old.

Today, MTArt agency is the art sector's leading talent agency representing some of the most talented, forward-thinking artists in the world. With a track record of delivering over 300 projects across major global cities, brands, and institutions—including Apple TV, Le Louvre and the World Cup, MTArt Agency and its team are experts in crafting compelling visual stories that captivate large audiences and secure global press coverage through public art projects, artworks' acquisitions, visual campaigns and licensing. MTArt Agency was listed as one of the fastest growing companies in the UK on the Sunday Times Power list and is currently expanding to the US and Middle East markets. MTArt Agency has been supported by a number of established investors and funds, including Frederic Jousset, Todd Ruppert, Simon de Pury and Saul Klein. As a business person, Marine was awarded Forbes 30 under 30 Europe and UK entrepreneur of the year for the NatWest Awards. In 2024, she was awarded the Champion of Empowerment Medal for her leadership in empowering artists and creatives around the globe by Alex Davies-Jones, Minister for VAWG and the Parliamentary Society of Arts, Fashion & Sports. 

Kinsey Robb  

Kinsey Robb is the Executive Director of the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA), a leading nonprofit organization that supports and champions nearly 200 of the nation’s foremost fine art galleries. In this role, she advances the ADAA’s mission to promote the highest standards of connoisseurship, scholarship, and ethical practice in the art world. Robb also oversees the organization's long-standing philanthropic commitment through the ADAA Foundation, which provides grants to small and mid-sized museums across the country to support curatorial research and innovative exhibitions.

Prior to joining the ADAA, Robb served as Executive Director of Art Center Sarasota, where she led strategic growth initiatives and expanded public programming during a pivotal chapter of the institution’s history. Her earlier career includes roles at internationally recognized galleries such as Gagosian, Lehmann Maupin, and Galerie Perrotin, where she worked closely with leading contemporary and conceptual artists.

Robb received her master's degree in art history from the University of Manchester and her undergraduate degree from Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. She has previously served on several public art and philanthropic advisory boards, reflecting her long-standing commitment to expanding access to the arts and fostering inclusive cultural dialogue.

Photo credit: Barbara Banks Photography

Aimée Scala  

Aimée Scala is a Partner in the Los Angeles office of Mazzola Lindstrom. Aimée’s practice focuses on litigation as well as transactional law, particularly in the areas of fine art, intellectual property, media, and entertainment law. Aimée represents clients in a variety of creative fields, including the visual arts, photography, publishing, and entertainment industries.

Past Chair of the Entertainment Law and Intellectual Property Executive Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Aimée organized and participated in panels and events in the area of Art Law. She graduated cum laude from Columbia University and Brooklyn Law School.

Prior to entering the legal profession, Aimée was the photo editor of Artforum magazine from 2004-2013. Her extensive professional background in the arts informs her analysis of client matters, as she is familiar with the many players and facets of the art world, from scholars and researchers to artists and galleries, as well as museums, auction houses, libraries, archives, and nonprofit arts organizations of all kinds.

Alex Glauber  

Alex Glauber is an art advisor, curator, and educator based in New York. He is the founder and principal of AWG Art Advisory, where he works with private individuals, corporations, and institutions in the conceptualization, building and management of fine art collections. Previous to founding AWG Art Advisory in 2009, Glauber served as an assistant curator for the Lehman Brothers and Neuberger Berman art collections from 2006 to 2009. In that role, he focused on the acquisition of works by emerging to mid-career contemporary artists, and installed throughout the firm’s worldwide offices. Glauber has curated monographic and thematic group exhibitions at venues as varied as the Portland Museum of Art in Maine, Phillips auction, and Bryant Park, as well as at galleries such as Lisson Gallery, Andrew Kreps Gallery, Chapter NY, Dickinson, David Lewis Gallery, and Casey Kaplan. Glauber holds a BA in Art History from Bowdoin College and an MA in Arts Administration from NYU. He has served on the faculty of the Sotheby’s Institute of Art and developed courses for the Art Business program on the art market and collection building and management. Glauber has lectured on the art market and collecting strategies at Tsinghua University in Beijing, the New Britain Museum of American Art in Connecticut, the Rubell Collection in Miami, and a variety of financial institutions. He is a board member of the The Brooklyn Rail and the president of the APAA (Association of Professional Art Advisors).

Wendy Lindstrom 

Founding partner of Mazzola Lindstrom, a firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles and both national and global reach, Wendy Lindstrom draws upon 25 years’ experience as a seasoned litigator, bringing deep industry knowledge to her practice. She is a leading lawyer in the field of art law and is highly regarded for her expertise, providing specialized counsel on art law, cultural property issues, intellectual property, antiquities, jewelers block, transportation, cargo, international and interstate commerce as well as complex commercial transactions.

Wendy’s competency, discretion and client-focused approach is sought out by institutional and private clients alike, comprising the sector’s leading museums, auction houses, galleries, collectors, advisers, artists, and dealers. She has overseen some of the most high-profile cases in the art world, achieving multi-million dollar recoveries for her clients. Wendy has successfully transacted and litigated domestic and international disputes concerning art, antiques, antiquities, stamps, rare wines, watches, jewelry, collectibles, yachts, NFTs and specie markets including fraud and damage. She drafts and negotiates loan agreements, consignment agreements, bills of sale, artist dealer agreements, fine art logistics agreements, terms and conditions and many other types of art related contracts.

Melissa Osterwind

Melissa Osterwind is the President of SRI Fine Art Services, an art logistics firm servicing the New York Metropolitan area.  SRI Fine Art Services provides art transportation, installation, service, and global shipping services for artist studios, galleries, museums, foundations, and private collectors.  Melissa serves on the Steering Committee of ICEFAT – the international trade organization representing art logistics professionals.  A trailblazer and advocate for women in the logistics industry, Melissa won the everywoman’s International Inspiration Award in 2023 for her work in the sector.  An avid lover of art and artists, Melissa serves as a Trustee at the Bronx Museum and Project for Empty Space.  She holds a master’s degree in public administration from Syracuse University, with a concentration in finance.  

Koji Inoue

Koji Inoue is a Partner at Hauser & Wirth, one of the world's leading contemporary and modern art galleries. With almost 20 years of experience in the art market, Koji joined Hauser & Wirth in 2019 after over a decade at Christie's, where he served in key roles including leading several record-breaking Post-War and Contemporary auctions, heading Client Development, and directing the Private Sales department globally. During his time at Christie's, he worked with major collectors on significant consignments and acquisitions. At Hauser & Wirth, Koji leads the Sales team in New York, represents several artists and estates within the gallery's program of over 100 artists, and focuses on exhibitions that further the gallery's mission of contextualizing contemporary art through thoughtful presentation of the historical. His deep knowledge of both primary and secondary markets provides him with a unique perspective on the evolving landscape of today's global art business.

Ferdousi Islam is an Executive Director and Head of the Art Resources Team (ART) at Morgan Stanley. Previously, she was lead underwriter at Morgan Stanley on loans to Ultra High Net Worth clients and private equity funds secured by fine art, unfunded capital commitments, and other Tailored Lending products. She also led risk management of illiquid products at Deutsche Bank, with an emphasis on fine art lending.

Ferdousi has held both art specialist and business management roles at Sotheby’s and Christie’s. She has lectured at Columbia University and New York University on art as an asset and speaks frequently on underappreciated art histories.

Ferdousi earned her BA from Vassar College, an MA from the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London), and holds an advanced degree in Appraisal Studies from NYU. She was accepted into the DPhil History of Art program at the University of Oxford and hopes to complete her doctorate before the end of the century.

Melissa Netecke 

Melissa Netecke brings over 15 years of expertise in the art and luxury sectors, focused on globally recognized art and brand collaborations. During her decade-long tenure at Art Basel as Global Head of Partnerships, Melissa spearheaded the strategy and development of partnerships across the fair’s flagship locations in Hong Kong, Basel, Paris, and Miami Beach. She cultivated relationships with leading luxury brands such as Audemars Piguet, Louis Vuitton, BMW, NetJets, La Prairie, and more. Melissa was integral in the launch of several new business initiatives at Art Basel including Art Basel Cities: Buenos Aires; Intersections, the Art Basel podcast; the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report and Global Survey on Collecting; the fair’s first-ever retail product collaboration, as well as the debut edition of Paris plus par Art Basel/Art Basel Paris. She has privately consulted a variety of cultural organizations across the US and Europe on sponsorship and partnership strategy. Melissa joined 291 Agency in 2024 as Head of Business Development.